


In Love Again

by LadyLazuli97



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Catradora moments but not really, Enemies to Friends, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Getting Back Together, Jealous Glimmer (She-Ra), Love Triangles, Minor Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Minor Injuries, Past Relationship(s), Post-Break Up, Post-Canon, Reunions, Wingman Bow (She-Ra), so I prefer not to use the tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 39,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLazuli97/pseuds/LadyLazuli97
Summary: Glimmer broke up with Adora the last time they saw each other before she was kidnapped by Horde Prime. Now that she's back in Bright Moon, she needs to clarify to herself if she still has feelings for Adora before trying to get her back, but perhaps there's someone else with the same plans.Story inspired bythis Glimmadora playlistbycuriousscientistkae. Thank you for the inspiration!
Relationships: Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 82





	1. Walk You Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! First of all, I want to say that this is a kind of continuation of [this series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566235). You don't need to read that to understand this story, but I think some details would be clearer if you read the first part of this AU. Thank you! Enjoy!

"Something's going on outside" Catra warned, after she point her ears up suddenly.

"What do you mea-" Glimmer started to say, but Catra waved her to shut up.

Glimmer couldn't hear anything, but she trusted Catra's keen sense of hearing. After all, she was always right when she said that someone was approaching. Usually these visits were from guards announcing that Horde Prime invited them to 'dine'. To Glimmer, the gray bars they fed them were gross, but Catra seemed used to them. During these meetings, Horde Prime discussed his plans to control the Heart of Etheria. As expected, he never mentioned that he was going to return the girls to their planet, so Glimmer was aware that they were going to be spending quite a bit of time on that ship. She was no longer even sure how long they had been there; she had lost count after several days. Catra didn't seem to mind, but Glimmer was desperate to know if her friends were fine... and if _she_ was fine...

"What do you think he wants to talk about now?" Glimmer whispered "Because I think he has no idea-"

"I think this time we won't have dinner with the boss" Catra interrupted, looking towards the door, surprised

"What?"

The door opened. Slowly. It didn't emit a single screech. But it wasn't one of those terrifying clones who had opened it.

Glimmer had to convince herself that she was not dreaming. There at the door, a blonde girl was looking back at her. She still had her hair down, showing her sidecut and the scar from the wound that had caused her to get it. She could tell she was wearing the same old clothes, except that she had replaced her red jacket with a blue cape. Glimmer could recognize this cape, 'cause it was hers. It was the same one she had loaned her the day she met her, during the festival at Thaymor. The cape she had stopped wearing when she started dressing her 'queen clothes'. Seeing that she was using it made her feel... happy.

"A-Adora?" the queen stammered, unable to believe it

"Glimmer!" Adora exclaimed, entering the cell

Glimmer stood up and ran to hug her. She felt as if a balloon of happiness was inflating in her chest, and it grew even bigger when she was in the girl's arms. Until now, she hadn't thought about how much she had missed Adora's scent, the sound of her voice, how it felt to hug her muscular, though thin body...

"You're alive! What are you doing here?" Glimmer asked.

"Of course I'm alive! I came to rescue you" Adora replied, and then, without warning, she kissed her

During the kiss, Glimmer's mind echoed many thoughts at the same time. Many of them with Catra's voice.

_'Do you really think she wanna come back?', 'She already accepted that your little relationship is over', 'She's going to think you want to go back to her for pity, just to make her feel good', 'You said a lot of hurtful things, didn't you? You made her cry'_

_'Let her alone. Let her alone. LET HER ALONE'_

Adora finally released herself from the hug and smiled at her. Glimmer said nothing. The voices in her mind kept screaming at her. She wasn't even sure she had kissed her back. Probably didn't.

Adora stopped smiling. Suddenly, all the happiness on her face was gone. She blushed a little and said "I'm so sorry, I got excited. I forgot you didn't want me to... I'm sorry"

"Adora, I..."

But Adora wasn't even listening to her. She had frowned and was staring at Glimmer's face. She ran her hand across the queen's cheek, where she knew very well that she had a small scar from a scratch. Adora seemed to understand, and it was just then when Catra, who had been all that time in the corner behind Adora, decided to speak.

"Hey Adora! Glad to see you too"

"Catra!" the blonde exclaimed, turning and pointing the girl with her sword. It was then that Glimmer realized that this was not the sword of protection.

"Hey, take it easy! Is this how you say hello to me? You gave Sparkles a kiss and everything!" Catra exclaimed. She didn't seem angry, but rather outraged at Adora's reaction

"You hurt her! I'm going to-"

"Adora, it's alright" Glimmer reassured her, taking Adora by the wrist and lowering her hand to stop her to threatening Catra with the strange sword "Catra and I are on the same team now"

Adora looked at her like she was crazy. Well, that phrase was quite true. She couldn't say that Catra was her friend, but she assumed that she was no longer her mortal enemy either.

"Adora! Hurry up!" Glimmer heard a familiar voice from the door. A few seconds later, Bow appeared. Glimmer ran to him and hugged him too.

"Oh, thank goodness! You're okay!" Bow sighed in relief, lifting Glimmer off the floor

"I am now" she replied, hugging him very tightly too

"We have a lot to talk about, but we better do it on the ship. Adora..."

Bow interrupted himself when he saw Catra.

"Ummm"

"Hey, it's the Heart Boy! What a surprise!" Catra commented in a sarcastic voice

"Are you coming with us?" Glimmer asked the girl, very serious.

Catra looked at the three friends. Glimmer was a little nervous. Catra had been on good terms with Horde Prime, and was collaborating as much as she could, but Glimmer knew she was doing it with some fear. The time she had spent meeting her, Glimmer had realized that Catra could be a great ally. However, she didn't have to go with them. She owed Glimmer nothing. She could stay with Horde Prime and be his right hand just as she had been with Hordak. It was what was best for her, since it was clear that Horde Prime was the one who would have the advantage in the war.

"Fine, but it's not because I want to join your stupid Rebellion" Catra answered at last, passing Bow on her way out "It's because it's super boring to be here"

Glimmer sighed in relief. Catra was not her friend. In fact, she didn't know how things were going to be between them now that they weren't going to be alone, but Glimmer was glad not to leave her behind.

Bow signaled them to hurry and walked forward for Catra to follow.

"Glimmer, are you sure about this?" Adora asked quietly, stopping the queen for a moment "We're talking about Catra! You said so, after all she has done..."

"I'm not asking you to trust her" Glimmer replied "I'm asking you to trust me"

Adora stared at her for a few seconds, but in the end she nodded slightly. She could tell she wanted to say something else, but Glimmer hurried out after Catra and Bow. She really didn't feel like arguing, much less doing it with Adora. All the happiness she had felt at the beginning was gone. Perhaps Catra was right. She didn't deserve Adora, so it was best to avoid contact between them as much as possible, and keep her away, as much as it hurt.

* * *

Well, it was strange that things had come out exactly as it had been planned. Adora and Bow had arrived on Mara's ship. The plan was simple: search for Glimmer and go undetected. Of course, they had to evade or distract several guards who looked exactly like Hordak, that had been somewhat disturbing. Other than that, they had easily gotten out of there. Too easy to be true, Adora had a feeling they had been let go.

For now, that was fine, Glimmer was with them and that was the important thing... although she was avoiding her at all costs. Adora had not insisted because the main thing was to get to their ship, but now that they were there, she could try to talk with her gi-

Girlfriend? No, she wasn't her girlfriend. Glimmer broke up with her and she didn't like her kissing her on their reunion. Adora had acted on impulse, all that time she had been thinking about seeing Glimmer again so forgot that, as far as she knew, Glimmer hated her. She felt very foolish for having done it but didn't know how to apologize.

"Well, everything's ready and... here we go" Bow announced, when the ship began to move.

Entrapta had worked very hard to make the ship work without the sword, but in the end she had succeeded. It was a change that had been for the good, since now the ship was much easier to drive. The autopilot would take care of returning them to Bright Moon.

"Well now that we're safe tell us... are you two alright?" Bow asked the girls.

"We're totally fine, don't worry" Glimmer replied

"Seriously? But you were prisoners on an enemy ship!"

"We were more like... forced guests..."

"Allies" Catra corrected her, without looking at anyone "Sparkles made an alliance with Horde Prime"

Adora looked at Glimmer quickly. She blushed and growled "He didn't ask me if I wanted to! What happened was that Catra told him that the planet was a super weapon, and now he wants to find out how to use the Heart of Etheria when he pleases!"

"And does him have plans to use it soon?" Adora wanted to know

"Not that we know. It's more like he wants to have the weapon ready for when he needs it. That's why he hasn't destroyed the planet yet. But now that we escape, I suppose he won't be happy"

"So thanks, Adora, you condemned us all" Catra concluded, with a sarcastic smile.

"Hey, nobody asked you to come" Adora replied

"Listen, I don't want you two to be fighting all the time! So if you're gonna be rude with each other it's better to shut the fuck up" Glimmer ordered

"What Glimmer wants to say is that, since the trip is a bit long, we have to try to get along with our new ship partner" Bow said, somewhat nervous, turning his gaze from Adora to Catra and vice versa

"Did you hear that Adora? Don't be so rude, listen to the Heart Boy" Catra smiled

"Ummm, my name is Bow"

"I know, Bob"

"Fine, all right" Adora said to the girl, "But I'm going to watch you very closely"

"Sure, because that always works out very well for you"

Adora growled, watching Catra slowly walk away to take a turn around the ship. It was incredible that Glimmer had allied with her. Okay, she could understand, it's not like she had many options.

And talking about Glimmer... She was now looking at the space landscape through the windshield. Adora approached her. Things were not right, they needed to talk. Adora wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to be able to hug her and tell her how much she had missed her.

"Glim..." she said in a low voice as she reached the queen

Glimmer looked at her, a little startled.

"Can we...?"

"No. Not now Adora, please" the pink-haired girl replied, hastily

"So when? There are many things I wanna tell you..."

"It's just that... I need to think, okay?"

"Glimmer please... you were locked up in that ship for weeks, you had time to think about many things... Or are you gonna tell me that you didn't think about us?"

"I was kidnapped on an enemy ship, I had other things on my mind, okay?"

"Okay, you're right. But hey... did you miss me?"

"Yeah, I did"

"Me too. Glim, I need to tell you two very important things that-"

"Adora, no"

"But you don't understand-"

"I said no! I need a moment!"

Glimmer went to the other side of the cabin. Adora was going to go after her, but she saw Bow beckoning her not to. Adora began to feel annoyed... She couldn't help but feel that Glimmer could be a little kinder to them, after all, they were in space just to rescue her. Besides, she had to tell her those two important things before they got to Bright Moon. No matter what Bow said, Adora had to talk to her right now.

"Glitter is definitely not your thing" Catra commented, taking Adora's cape and watching it closely

"Catra" Adora muttered, somewhat surprised at how quickly she had approached "What the hell?"

"Hey, could you at least pretend you're glad to see me alive?"

"After you tried to kill me so many times?"

"I didn't think you were so resentful. Relax, we're not going to start a fight right now"

Adora sighed. Well, Catra was right about that. She wasn't going to start fighting her at the risk of destroying the ship. Although to be fair, Catra didn't seem exactly hostile at the time. She looked tired and, to be honest, a little weak.

Adora looked at Glimmer again, who was still looking through the windshield, but now on the other side of the ship, turning her back on them.

"She doesn't want to talk to you" Catra said quietly "Give her some space"

Bow signaled to Adora, indicating that he was going to speak to Glimmer. She nodded slightly. She knew that Bow would not tell her the two important things. They had agreed to say them together. He just needed to make Glimmer willing to listen.

Adora went to sit in the captain's chair, resigned that Glimmer wasn't going to speak to her for now. Instead, Catra went after her and sat on one of the armrests.

"C'mon, don't be so serious" Catra asked, leaning a little on Adora "You could ask if I had fun"

"It's incredible that you are like this after you almost destroyed the world" Adora replied, without looking at her "In addition to everything you did lately"

"And what do you want? An apology? I'm not sorry, you idiot. This is a war; I won't apologize for taking your friend's kingdom"

"Don't you understand that all that was wrong?"

"Wrong for whom? It went very well for me. And if you hadn't gone to play with the princesses, you would also think it's fine"

"I realized it was wrong when I still in the Horde, why do you think I left?"

"Anyway, now I'm here"

"For now. I swear if I find out that you're a Horde Prime spy or something..."

"Stop being so grumpy and paranoid. Can we pretend to be friends for now?"

Adora shrugged her shoulders. She didn't have much to talk about, at least not with Catra. It was still a surprise to have found her alongside Glimmer, but that explained why the Horde's strategies had been so bad in the past few weeks. To be honest, Adora hadn't had time to think whether Catra was on Etheria or not.

"Soo... You and Sparkles are a thing?" Catra asked, as her tail swayed gently from side to side

"Yes. Well, no..." Adora sighed "I don't even know"

"Well, if it's any use to you, she's not sure either"

"What? Did you talk to her? She told you something about me?!"

"Ahhh now you want to talk to me...!"

"What did she say?"

"Not much... I guess she's upset that you don't respect her authority. Something hard to believe because you tend to be a people pleaser"

"I'm not a people pleaser! So, she's upset with me?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, after you disobeyed her direct orders it's fair that she's angry."

Adora sighed and looked at where Glimmer and Bow were. They were also talking, but Adora couldn't hear anything.

"Also, she mentioned something about her mother..."

Adora felt a cold sweat on her back. Oh... Sure, how could she have been so silly?! She was guilty for Queen Angella's death! She knew that Glimmer would never forget that, even if she said so. And she had discussed it with Catra... if it didn't matter, why had she told that to an enemy?

She was very serious, looking at the floor. Okay, she felt so bad, but she wasn't going to cry in front of Catra.

"Well, you know what princesses are like" Catra commented, putting a hand on her shoulder "Especially Sparkles. She's temperamental and stubborn, don't you think?"

Adora didn't answer, her heart was beating slow but very strong. How could she be so silly? Please, if Glimmer had told her it was over, she had to respect her decision, as much as it hurt.

"Hey, c'mon" Catra insisted "You look silly with that depressed face"

"It's just... this hurts" she replied

"Look, I don't know what the problem is between you, but now she doesn't want to talk to you. If you can't do anything now, stop worrying"

"Why do you suddenly want to cheer me up?"

"I don't know. I look out for you, remember?"

Adora giggled and smiled slightly as she said "You should have thought that before letting me die on the portal"

Catra laughed and pushed her gently, saying "You're so resentful!"

"You tried to kill me! I think the rancor is fair"

"In that case... thanks for saving me. You didn't have to."

"To be completely honest, we didn't know you were with Glimmer, so thanks to you for being with her"

"Oh, you have to thank me so much! That girl is so irritating! It's not easy living with her"

"It is exactly what I said about you when they asked me why I was your friend"

They were both laughing now. No, Adora knew they weren't magically friends again. That was going to take some time, but hey, there was no point in trapping herself in her own thoughts, at least not now that they were so negative. And yes, everything was going wrong, but if she only focused on blaming herself for everything, she was going to go crazy.

"I like your new haircut, that thing in your hair was really weird" Catra commented, pulling Adora's bangs back, simulating the hair poof.

"Let me guess, now follows a comment about my big forehead" Adora gushed, with a half mocking smile

"Well, now that you mention it..."

"Oh, shut up"

"And that scar is totally badass. But seriously, the sidecut looks great on you"

"Thanks. Glimmer cut it for me"

"Well, it's starting to grow, and since Sparkles doesn't seem very friendly, maybe I can give you a trim"

"I don't know if I want to cut it or let it grow, but I'm gonna think about it, thanks"

Catra smiled at her. But then she seemed to hesitate a bit, and said in an almost shy voice:

"Hey, now that we're on the same side, do you think we can be friends again?"

"I guess that will depend on how you behave"

"Damn! I think you better get your sword ready then"

The blonde laughed a little. She could only think that she had really liked being friends with Catra again in the portal dimension. Although of course, she had also liked to hit her in the face. It was a strange feeling.

"I hate to admit it, but you were right. I kinda miss you" Catra sighed, making a small grimace of disgust

"I miss you too" Adora replied "I mean, you're a bitch, but still ..."

They laughed again. Catra even purred a little, though she quickly hid it.

"Hey, since I mentioned it... What happened to your magic sword? Or does it not work in space?" Catra asked, looking at Adora's new sword

Adora felt a cold sweat again. By now she thought she was used to that question, but she realized that wasn't like that. She couldn't help but feel a sore chest as she remembered the sword of protection shattering. She even felt herself in the Crystal Castle again, with that feeling of fire running through her veins.

"I... don't have it anymore" Adora replied

"What?" Catra was surprised

"It's gone. She-Ra is gone"

"WHAT?"

"Shhhh! Glimmer doesn't know yet"

"But how-?"

"Can you wait? I'm going to tell it all when I tell Glimmer..."

"Well then tell her"

"No... I'm not ready"

"Why? You just... have to say it. That's it"

"I'm afraid"

"Afraid?"

"Yes. She... she won't be happy. She will be very angry or disappointed. I'm afraid of that, or that she'll make fun of me"

"Why would she make fun of you?"

"I lost the sword stopping the weapon that she activated. I'm afraid that she'll say that I deserve it for disobeying her. Or that she'll arrest me. Or that she won't want to have anything to do with me because I'm not She-Ra anymore"

"I think you care too much about what Sparkles thinks of you"

"I care about her more than anyone else"

Catra blushed a little and groaned before saying, somewhat annoyed "Well, your friend Bob and apparently the rest of your princess friends are fine with that. I met you before being She-Ra. You had friends at the Fright Zone without being She-Ra. If Sparkles only cares about She-Ra, then I don't know what you're doing begging her for attention"

"It's just that... I don't know, Catra"

"You see? It is because of these things that in the Fright Zone they tell us that it is better to hide our emotions. You're distracted by this. If I wanted to attack you now, I would beat you with a hand on my back"

Adora had thought the same thing many times. In fact, she had begun to hide her emotions again. With the Alliance she had been normal, trying to sound calm, and they had all taken it well. However, at the end of the day she was always in Bow's arms, crying for one thing or another. She hated it, she hated feeling weak, that was the kind of behavior the Horde considered dishonorable. At first she was afraid that Bow would consider her weak, but he told her thousands of times that it was okay to say what she felt, it was just that Adora didn't feel able to vent to anyone but him.

"You have to face the problem now" Catra declared, looking at her nails

Adora looked at the screen of the ship. She needed to start talking now if she wanted to finish saying everything before they got to Bright Moon.

"Glimmer" Adora said, standing up so suddenly that it surprised Catra "We have to talk right now"

* * *

Glimmer was facing the windshield of the ship but wasn't thinking of the landscape. The voices in her head kept telling her over and over to leave Adora alone.

 _'Yes, you should leave her alone, but you also didn't have to be an idiot with her'_ another voice whispered, more rational than the rest.

The queen felt bad. She was hurt. She felt like a princess from those ridiculous fairytales, and all she wanted to do was run into the arms of the knight who had rescued her from the dragon tower. Or in this case, into the arms of the beautiful warrior who had saved her from an alien dictator.

However, she didn't do it. She knew very well that Adora would welcome her with open arms, but she didn't. She was afraid. Afraid of Adora defending herself and saying _'You wanted to get away from me, now go away'_. It would be fair, of course, but her selfish side didn't want to hear that.

Adora had kissed her, that meant she still loved her, right? That she wasn't mad at how she behaved when they broke up...

_'Of course she's angry! You behaved like a dork! She only kissed you because she was excited to see you, that's all! You have to beg her to forgive you if you want to get her back!'_

Of course she wanted to get her back! But she wasn't going to beg her now. Not in front of Catra and Bow.

_'You should do it in front of the whole kingdom. Let them know that Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon is an idiot who hurt She-Ra on a whim'_

But what was he going to tell her? An 'I’m sorry' wasn't enough to fix everything she had done. Glimmer felt like the real villain in that war now. Damn, her mother would be disappointed in her...

"Hey Glim"

Glimmer was glad to see Bow at her side. She hugged him briefly, knowing that if the hug lengthened, she would start crying.

"I'm so glad to hear that you're okay" Bow said, smiling a little.

"It's good to come home"

"Excited to be back at Bright Moon?"

"With all the responsibilities that implies? The truth is it wouldn't bother me to stay in space for a couple more days"

They both giggled a little, and then were quiet for a few seconds before Bow said "Hey. Adora..."

"Oh no" Glimmer interrupted, somewhat uncomfortable "Bow, listen, if she sent you to talk to me..."

"No, she didn't ask me for anything. I just wanted to know what happened between you two"

"I swear if she sends you..."

"No, really. You and I are best friends, right? I can keep your secrets, even from Adora if you want"

Glimmer sighed. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Bow used to be her only friend. It was as if she had known Adora since ever.

"This is weird" Glimmer confessed "See her again"

"Didn't you want to see her again?" Bow asked, somewhat surprised.

"No, it's not that! Of course I wanted to see her; I just didn't expect it. I spent a lot of time preparing myself in case I received the news that she... well, if she wasn't around anymore"

"Oh, I understand... why did you believe that?"

"For the Heart of Etheria of course! It hurt a lot when it was activated, and Adora was going to channel all that energy..."

"Oh yeah ... Yes, she was hurt after that"

"How bad was that?"

"Well I guess it wasn't a nice experience for her. But you know how strong she is"

"She didn't have to go through that, it's all my fault"

"She doesn't think that"

"She doesn't?"

"Of course not! Someone in the war room commented that everything that happened could be your fault... You should've seen Adora! She was furious! She said she wasn't going to allow anyone to blame you for Light Hope's plan! No one can say something bad about you because otherwise Adora gets mad"

Glimmer didn't reply. So Adora had defended her, even when she knew it was all the queen's fault.

"Adora's not upset with you, I promise" Bow continued "She was from here to here making plans for the war, fixing this ship, making plans to come to rescue you, fighting with Horde soldiers and robots..."

"Hold on, if Catra and Hordak were in space, who's leading the Horde?"

"I suppose the force captains, although to be honest many troops have given up for not knowing what to do"

"So Adora..."

"Adora is very happy to see you. She's not upset"

"She should be after I broke up with her the way I did... I don't know how I'm going to fix this mess"

"Wait a minute! You two broke up?"

Glimmer looked at him, puzzled. Bow was speechless.

"Yeah, I'm broke up with her" Glimmer explained. "I yelled horrible things at her and she just... Oh no... didn't she tell you?"

Bow shook his head, but his expression showed that he had just understood many things.

"She didn't say anything to me" Bow muttered "Wow... when did it happen?"

"The day you two left for Beast Island. You know, after I asked you out of my room. I swear, Bow... it was a terrible discussion, she even said a few things to me. Then I broke up with her, but she didn't agree and... Ah, I don't know if she thinks we're still together or if she didn't tell you so as not to make me look bad"

Bow was thinking for a moment until he replied "Well, apparently, she didn't want to make you look bad. She knows you broke up with her... Gosh! This explains so many things! I knew there was something wrong!"

"I regretted broke up with her as soon as I saw her leave my room"

"And you didn't go after her"

"I didn't. I'm a dork"

"Well, what are you gonna do?"

"Huh?"

"What are you gonna do? Adora is right there, wanting to talk to you to fix everything, and you reject her"

Glimmer looked back out of the corner of her eye. Adora and Catra were laughing for some reason. Seeing them so happy, with Catra sitting on the armrest, practically on Adora's lap, made Glimmer's blood boil. But at the same time...

"Adora deserves better" Glimmer muttered "Maybe I'm doing her a favor"

"What? Are you talking about Catra?"

"No! Well, I don't know. Anyone would be better than me"

"I don't think Adora thinks that. Besides... Catra? They always want to kill each other"

"I know that Catra has feelings for Adora, I think I know her well after being locked up with her for so long"

"Well, I've been around Adora day and night, and she never mentioned Catra. She just talks about you, all the time. Mermista hates her for it"

Glimmer giggled but couldn't help but look at the way Catra was looking at Adora just then. Why was it so easy for her, knowing everything she had done? Sure, she knew how to get close to Adora, knew her since ever, how was Glimmer going to compete with that?

"Are you gonna let her go?" Bow insisted "I mean, if you're right, Catra is already ahead of you on this. Just go tell Adora how you feel"

"It's not so easy" Glimmer said "We have a lot to talk about before we know what will happen to us. I told her many horrible things, but I don't regret all of them"

"Well, okay. I'm just advising you. I don't want to force you to do anything. And I want you to know that I will always be your friend. I will be friends with both of you, no matter what happens"

"Thanks, Bow"

"Listen Glim, Adora and I have to tell you something. Two important things..."

"Bow, I already told her not now..."

"Glimmer" Adora said, now standing " We have to talk right now"

* * *

Adora regretted having opened her mouth as soon as she noticed that everyone was staring at her. Damn, it was ridiculous that she felt nervous with the three people who knew her better than anyone.

"Adora, please" Glimmer started

"No. This has nothing to do with... us" Adora interrupted "I promise"

Bow smiled at her to cheer her up. Adora took a deep breath and continued "First of all I want to say it's incredible that our plan worked"

"In fact, it was a somewhat silly plan" Catra commented from behind her "One ship, only two people..."

"We actually did it that way to ensure it was discreet" Bow pointed "Entrapta made the ship undetectable to any type of radar, and only the two of us came in case things went wrong"

"What do you mean?" Glimmer asked, stepping forward and putting a hand on Bow's shoulder.

"We didn't want to put anyone at risk, so even though everyone knew about the plan, we just executed it. Just me and Adora, without telling anyone"

"Why did you do that?"

"Bow already said it, to be discreet" Adora explained "Also, if we die it doesn't matter, because... I'm sorry Bow... we decided that we are the least valuable members of the Alliance"

Bow nodded and added "We couldn't afford to lose anyone important"

"What the hell are you two talking about?!" Glimmer exclaimed, outraged "You two are like... the leaders of the Rebellion! Adora, that's literally your occupation! You're in charge of all the troops of the kingdom!"

Adora shook her head. Oh yeah, another thing she should have Glimmer aware of...

"We thought that any of the princesses was worth more, they weren't going to need us" Bow explained

"But you are the best of our warriors! And Adora, you are She-Ra!"

Adora felt herself freeze in place again. Bow looked at her and nodded slightly. Adora opened her mouth, but not a word came out. Then, she felt Catra put a hand on her shoulder. The blonde looked at her, and was strangely comforted by Catra's gaze, even though Catra wasn't smiling or saying anything. Adora looked at Glimmer again and braced herself.

"She-Ra no longer exists"

There was an awkward silence that lasted several seconds. Glimmer had turned somewhat pale.

"The sword is broken. It's gone" Adora sentenced

"What are you saying?" Glimmer whispered

Oh no... that tone in her voice. The queen was disappointed.

"But how?" Glimmer stammered

"It was the Heart of Etheria" Bow explained, to help Adora, who was frozen "All energy was channeled through the sword, so Adora had to break it to prevent the weapon from activating and destroying us"

"I'm sorry" Adora whispered

Glimmer ran a hand through her hair and said, "And now what?"

"About what?" Bow asked

"About the war, of course! We don't have a super weapon and now we don't have She-Ra either! We're going to have to face Horde Prime and we have nothing!"

Adora felt sick. Well, she knew Glimmer was going to react like this. The queen looked so desperate...

"I had no choice, I'm so sorry!" she immediately exclaimed "But I couldn't let the world collapse!"

"Okay, I understand, but what the hell are we going to do now? We don't have a little help from the First Ones' tech, and She-Ra was the strong element in our army! What do we have now? C'mon Adora, tell me what's going to happen now? What are you gonna do?"

"I'm sorry Gli-"

"No" Catra interjected, taking Adora's wrist

Everyone looked at the girl. Catra released Adora and looked directly at Glimmer, saying "Don't you dare apologize again, Adora" she started to walk towards the queen, slowly "Listen Sparkles, Adora only stopped the mess you did. I'm telling this to you because I know that she's so dumb that she's going to tell you it's not your fault. But it's, and you need to know it"

Adora couldn't move or say anything. Glimmer also seemed frozen, as Catra approached her.

"Adora doesn't have the stupid sword, so what?" Catra continued "She and Bow managed to get here for you. And they did it without powers. And the only thing you have done is ignore Adora and complain about everything to Bow. It's a shame that you care so much about the fucking She-Ra. She-Ra never existed! It has always been Adora, my Adora, just... taller"

"Wow, that... is what I said to Adora almost every day" Bow stammered

"You see? He understands it! Bow is a good friend! And you, your majesty... you only care about She-Ra but no about Adora. Because that was why you joined her to the Rebellion, right? Because she was She-Ra, not for anything else. I think you need to realize that she's much more than a big lady with a sword. If she had stayed in the Horde, your ridiculous Rebellion would be crushed, so show a little more respect. Not because you're the queen you have the right to trample on others"

They all froze for a few seconds. Adora didn't know what to do. Everything Catra had said about her... Woah, it was... woah. Bow always said similar things to her but hearing them from Catra was on another level.

"I didn't... I didn't mean..." Glimmer stammered "Adora, you know... She-Ra's not..."

She-Ra. Adora remembered very well what Glimmer had said to her the day they met. 'We need She-Ra'. Then she had wanted to present her to the Queen Angella as She-Ra, not as Adora... She-Ra had always been the priority. Sure, Glimmer cared about Adora... but about the Adora who have the sword.

"Adora..." Glimmer said, in a voice that seemed to beg her to listen

Adora sighed and brushed a hand over her sidecut. Hell, it all felt weird now.

"Yeah. She-Ra's gone. That was the first important thing I had to tell you"

"Adora, listen..."

Adora looked up. Wow, with all that, the trip seemed to have been much shorter. She could already see how they were approaching Bright Moon.

"We have to tell you something else" Adora interrupted

Glimmer looked at her blankly. Adora sat back down in the captain's chair. Catra was beside her, one hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, having Catra close made her feel... good.

It was Bow who stepped forward and took Glimmer's hands before bluntly saying "Glimmer... Your dad is alive. He's in the castle right now"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, these two really need to talk, huh? I wish they understood that, it would be a shame if they decided just to ignore each other...  
> Thank you for reading! Next chapter will come very soon!


	2. Please Don't Say You Love Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora can't have her long-awaited conversation with Glimmer. But she does have an interesting one with Catra.

Adora no longer felt so much urgency to talk to Glimmer. Once they reached Bright Moon, it was clear that they weren't going to be able to talk privately. And of course, it was obvious. King Micah looked as if he hadn't slept all night, and when he and Glimmer saw each other... Well, Adora didn't know the details of the reunion, as they gave them privacy.

She, Bow, and Catra had reunited with the other princesses, who, while happy to see them safe, were also very offended that they had left without them. It was funny to see that Perfume was trying to stay calm when she seemed more than willing to punch Bow. Adora busied herself apologizing and reassuring them, only to announce that Catra was at a truce for now. Adora had hoped there would be another emotional reunion when Scorpia saw Catra, but that didn't happen. Scorpia and Entrapta (and Emily, of course) kept their distance, which didn't seem to please Catra.

The blonde girl knew that being a straggler in a group of friends was horrible, but she couldn't stay with Catra, since she had ordered that no one disturb the queen or her father, so she should take care of official affairs, despite that she had already told them a thousand times that it didn't correspond to her... And, anyway, she didn't know how to act with Catra. It was weird having her around after all that had happened, but that conversation on the ship ... Well, it had only made things even weirder.

The rest of the day wasn't easy. Glimmer and her father had disappeared, probably to talk. Surely, they had a lot to talk about. Adora had to deal with the fact that everyone had unfinished business with Glimmer. The princesses wanted an explanation of what the hell had happened. The guards and soldiers wanted, or rather demanded, to see the queen for matters that anyone else could easily resolve, but no, they _needed_ Glimmer. Reports of Horde attacks were coming in, and Catra had suddenly disappeared before anyone could suggest that she withdraw her troops. Entrapta had taken advantage of Adora and Bow's absence to unleash robots throughout the castle. Castaspella was very indignant that she also couldn't see her brother and her niece.

In the end Adora and Bow managed to appease them all, but they didn't really solve anything. They thought that perhaps they could work better the next day, with some help from the queen and king.

But it didn't matter if the rest of the day had been a disaster. The only thing that mattered is that they had managed to find Glimmer and come back alive, that was enough.

Adora woke up on the table in the war room. She didn't know how long she had slept there, the last thing she remembered was having been listening to the general's plan to take the Fright Zone... or something like that. Damn, why hadn't anyone woken her up? Well, surely Bow would say something that would have to do with her having trouble going back to sleep if she was awakened... But now she was tired, she felt that she was able to go back to sleep on the table if she stayed longer. Concern for Glimmer had not let her rest for the past few weeks, but now she felt all the accumulated fatigue taking over her body.

Adora got up from the table and left the war room. It was already night, but surely it wasn't so late, because there were still people walking through the corridors of the castle. Great, she still had plenty of hours to sleep. The girl closed her eyes and gave a big yawn stretching her arms, as she turned the corridor towards her room. When she opened her eyes, she met Glimmer and King Micah right in front of her. Adora immediately stopped her yawn and, not knowing what else to do, she curtsied and said in a nervous voice "Your majesties"

Adora could see the discomfort in Glimmer's eyes. The king, who seemed used to that sort of thing, was the one who spoke "Adora! I'm sorry I left you alone. I hope there weren't that many issues to solve today!"

"Don't apologize, your majesty. We were able to handle it very well" Adora lied, staring at the king so as not to have to look at Glimmer.

"I don't know how I'm going to make up for everything you've done for this kingdom... And for bringing my little Glimmer home! Believe me, your effort will be recognized!"

"Ahh... yes, thank you, your majesty. Don't forget Bow"

"I'd never forget Bow. Anyway, you better go to sleep, it must have been a really exhausting day"

"Yes, I... I'll see you later. Good night... your majesties"

At that moment, Adora and Glimmer's eyes met. Adora felt her heart race, and she saw Glimmer blush a little. No, she couldn't say anything, not with King Micah present. Adora just ran out of there.

* * *

Adora reached her room and closed the door behind her. She leaned against it, sighing. She was just about to put her thoughts in order and try to calm down when she heard a voice in the dark.

"Hey Adora"

The girl gasped and, with the moonlight streaming through the window, she saw Catra's eyes watching her from her bed.

"Calm down! It looks like you saw a ghost" Catra scoffed, sitting on the edge of the bed

"Where the hell were you? I looked for you all afternoon! I thought you were gone" Adora reproached her

"Hey! I have my own business to attend to in this place. What did you want me for? Did you miss me?"

"We wanted to know if now that you are with us you are going to withdraw your troops from the villages"

"Ahhh yeah, right, now we're the good guys. Well, I don't know how well the soldiers will receive me after all this time, but..."

"Enough. We'll discuss it tomorrow. I'm tired of talking about the troops and soldiers and stuff"

Adora walked to her bed and dropped down next to Catra.

"How did you find my room?" she asked, realizing how strange it had been to find Catra there "How did you get in?"

"Well, it's the only one that has a decent bed" Catra replied "Also, it smells too much like a failure, it had to be yours"

Adora laughed and tapped her. Catra laughed a bit too, but then she wiped the smile off her face and she sounded a little nervous saying "Listen, I don't know where I'm going to sleep today, so I thought to come here with you... it's okay to you?"

Adora stopped to think for a few moments. For months, whenever she saw Catra they ended up fighting, hurting themselves or on the verge of death. Adora had decided that she no longer wanted her in her life, and now they were there, together and defenseless. Catra wasn’t to be trusted, she could stab her in her sleep if she let her stay.

And yet she didn't like sleeping alone. Bow had stayed a couple of nights with her, but he wasn't here now, not to mention she can't sleep in Glimmer's room as was usual for her...

"Sure, okay" she answered finally

 _'What the fuck, Adora?'_ she thought

"Thank you" Catra smiled "I mean, it's fair. Everyone in this castle seems to share a room except you"

"It's because they gave me my room before everyone else came and stayed here permanently"

"And how do they handle things here? Do we also have to expect for them to wake us up at five in the morning to start the routine?"

"Oh no, you can sleep as much as you want unless there's an emergency or something... you can even wear pajamas if you want"

"That's not new. Since I was the boss in the Fright Zone, I also allowed myself to wear pajamas to sleep. Do you have one that you can lend me?"

"Third drawer on the left"

Catra got up and went to the commode that Adora had pointed out.

"How did that happen?" Adora asked "You, being the boss..."

"Well, to be honest, I was always a much better leader than you" Catra said "Also, Hordak was completely useless. We always thought he was scary, but the truth is, he's very pathetic. I just had to show him who was in charge there"

"Ahh yes, Hordak... what happened to him? Bow said they took him too"

"Horde Prime rebooted it or something. He's one more clone now, exactly like the guards you saw"

"Really?"

"Yes, I think we don't have to worry about him anymore"

Adora had been all that time with her eyes closed but opened them when she felt Catra sit next to her. She was already wearing gray pajamas, shorts and a tank top, and had removed her mask.

"You trimmed your undercut" Adora commented "I hadn't noticed"

"Oh yeah, it really hurt me that you didn't!" Catra joked, lifting her hair to reveal her short hair at the nape of her neck

"You really drove Shadow Weaver crazy when you didn't want to cut your hair, remember?"

"Not as much as you did when you got your bangs without her permission"

They both laughed a little. Adora hadn't realized how much she needed to laugh. She hadn't laughed much lately.

"And what did she say when she saw this?" Catra asked, running her fingers down Adora's sidecut.

"I think she didn't like it at all, but she didn't say much to me. I'm no longer under her command."

"Shadow Weaver is still around here?"

"She's in her garden all the time, making tea... she doesn't come out very often since Glimmer's gone"

"Oh... fine"

"You don't want to go see her, do you?"

"What? No! The further away from her the better"

Adora noted that Catra had become a little serious. She couldn't blame her. From what she understood, Shadow Weaver nearly killed her the last time they saw each other.

"Catra..."

"Well, you already took the first step, you should let me give you an undercut now, before you decide to be a nerd again"

Adora understood. She also didn't feel like talking about Shadow Weaver.

"I'm not going to let you approach me with a sharp object" she replied, running a hand through her hair

"Come on! I'm good at this" Catra insisted, smiling "Besides, you always wanted an undercut"

"I never said that ... But I'm gonna think about it"

"I'll convince you. Come on, you look tired, are you going to wear pajamas or not?"

"I'm very tired! Can I sleep like this?"

"Adora refuses to do something to stay in bed? Who are you?"

Adora laughed and buried her face in the bed. She felt Catra taking off one of her boots.

"What are you doing?" she chuckled, looking at her

"I also want to sleep, and that won't happen until you put on your stupid pajamas" Catra replied, taking off her other boot and socks "So I help you"

Catra took her by the wrist and forced her to sit down. Then she removed Adora's cape.

"Why do you use this?" Catra sneered, looking at the cape as if it was dangerous "Smells like... Sparkles"

"That's why" Adora said, taking the cape back and folding it carefully "Because it smells like her"

Adora got a little nervous, so she quickly went to put on her pajamas.

"So, you two really are something, huh?" Catra asked

"Yes, did you think I'm lying? You saw me kiss her"

"I don't know, maybe it was a weird princess thing"

"But she told you about me..."

"Well, it's kinda hard to believe after seeing how she treated you today"

Those words pierced Adora's heart like a spear. She took a while to reply, as she removed her pants.

"She didn't treat me badly" she declared, but perhaps she didn't sound convinced. She was glad she was turning her back on Catra, not wanting to see her mocking gaze

"Oh no? Is that how she always treats you?" Catra insisted

"Of course not. She's just really under pressure. Besides, you do treat me badly"

"But I'm not your girlfriend, am I?"

Adora didn't reply. She busied herself in putting on her pajamas. She didn't mind change clothes in front of Catra, she had done it all her life after all.

"I'm just saying I didn't like that she looked down on you like that" Catra commented

Adora still didn't answer, but she couldn't keep pretending she was busy, having already finished. She turned around and forced herself to walk to the bed. She sat next to Catra without saying a word.

"I know it hurts" Catra continued "I saw your face when she mentioned She-Ra. You really are afraid that she only loves you for that, right?"

Adora shrugged her shoulders. Shit, no, she felt the tears coming. She'd had that same conversation with Bow a thousand times, but again, that Catra seemed to care about how she felt ...

"Adora..."

"I'm afraid of losing her, okay?" she confessed "She told me that she didn't love me because I was She-Ra, but because I'm me, but it's very clear that She-Ra is very important"

"Do you want me to be honest?"

"Please"

"Sparkles doesn't deserve you"

"What?"

"I spent all this time getting to know her. She is stubborn and irritating and screams a lot. You deserve better"

"Catra, please... if Glimmer told you something about me..."

"I already told you!"

"Something good"

"Sorry, no. I just heard complaints"

Adora quickly wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek.

"And I know very well that you two broke up. She told me so" Catra sighed.

"Does it count if I didn't want to break up?"

"Duh, of course it counts. Only one person decides"

"It's unfair"

She just didn't understand it. Part of her knew that Glimmer hated her and didn't want to see her anymore, but on the other hand, she had imagined thousands of times that, by rescuing her, Glimmer would react differently. That she was going to be very happy to see her and they were going to fix everything. This whole love stuff was difficult to understand. It was supposed to feel good but having all that love inside was hurting her so much. No one warned her that.

"Come on Adora, don't be like this" said Catra, with a small smile "It doesn't matter! You can do whatever you want whenever you want. You don't need Sparkles, surely you would have a better time with someone else"

"I can't think of anyone else"

"Well, we could spend time together"

"But it's different. The time I spent with you and the time I spent with Glimmer... is not the same"

"What's the difference?"

"Well, I like Glimmer"

"You don't like me?"

"Yes, I think so. But you used to be my friend. With Glimmer it is different, I'm in love with her"

Catra snorted and jumped out of bed. She looked a little upset.

"Okay Adora, then just stay there regretting that your princess left you. I think you should be glad that you're no longer with such a horrible person, but..."

"Glimmer is not horrible! You can't talk about my girlfriend like that!"

"Ex-girlfriend! She left you because you're no longer useful to her. You said it, you're the least valuable member of the Alliance. It's what the princesses do, they despise those who don't have powers like them. They didn't let you join the club; it was She-Ra whom they loved. She-Ra is much more powerful and important"

"You said it didn't matter!"

"It didn't matter TO ME! I love Adora! I'm not like princesses, and especially I'm not Glimmer! So, realize that I do appreciate you for who you really are"

Adora stared at her. Catra looked furious, but her eyes were full of tears. They were silent for several seconds. It was all so weird. Adora felt her heart leap out of her chest.

"Do you still want to stay with me?" Adora asked at last

Catra shrugged her shoulders. Adora got into bed, leaving Catra a space. She imitated her. They both stared at the ceiling for a long time. It all felt so weird and awkward...

"Catra"

"What do you want?" she spat

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Adora felt Catra turn to look at her, but she didn't take her eyes off the ceiling.

"You can't know" Catra answered at last

"Well, it's true, but... you're not going to kill me while I sleep, right?"

"Look, the truth is that I got everything I wanted. I was in command and I almost crushed your ridiculous Rebellion, but it didn't feel as good as I expected. In the end I didn't win anything. So now I want to see if being on your side can make me... feel happy"

"Well, I understand. Listen, this is very strange... I mean, you did horrible things to me..."

"I know. I don't expect you to forgive me, but… I'd like you to try"

"I guess I can do it. I'm sorry I left you alone"

"I was who didn't want to run away with you"

Adora sighed. Okay, things were weird... but she could try. She knew she missed Catra, despite everything that had happened. There were many things to forgive, but for now she was glad that her friend was there. She didn't want to be alone.

They didn't say anything for a long time. Adora even thought that Catra had fallen asleep, when she moved slightly to rest her head on Adora's shoulder. The blonde, not knowing what to do, put an arm around her. It wasn't the first time they'd slept together, but now, after all that had happened and Adora discovering various things about relationships, it seemed to be... different.

"I'm sorry how I yelled at you a while ago" Catra murmured "I know you're sad. I could be kinder to you"

"Don't worry, it's alright" Adora replied immediately

"I'm so sorry that you are feeling these things. I really think Glimmer..."

"I don't want to talk about Glimmer for now"

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"She doesn't want to talk to me. I'm not going to disturb her"

"Hey Adora... do you really love her?"

"I do. So much"

"And you never felt anything like this before?"

"No, I think I would know. I wasn't even sure what was going on with me when I started having these feelings for her"

"Oh well... I get it"

"Why do you ask?"

"For nothing. Tomorrow we'll take care of the remaining Horde troops"

"Yes, we must prevent them from advancing meaninglessly. We'll need their support if Horde Prime decides to attack"

"Okay. Then you'd better get some sleep"

Catra snuggled even closer to Adora. She was warm and soft, and Adora really appreciated having her around that night. She hadn't realized that she missed having her close, hearing her breathing, feeling her hair, her skin...

"Night, Catra" she said, with a racing heart

"Night, Adora"

* * *

Adora woke up until she felt the sunlight illuminate her face. She didn't open her eyes, but her other senses began to awaken. She heard the water from the waterfall in her room. She smelled the flowers that Perfuma had grown throughout the castle. She felt the presence of someone next to her.

Even without fully waking up, she wrapped her arms around her bedmate and pressed her against her body.

"Good morning, Glim" she muttered.

"What?!"

That yell made Adora wake up at last, startled. Catra was sitting up, looking at her with bewilderment.

"Did you just call me 'Glim'?" she asked indignantly

"Catra! Sorry, I thought..." Adora stammered

"Do I look like her? Didn't you even remember that it was me you slept with? What the fuck?"

"Sorry! I was still asleep and it's the custom!"

She could see that Catra wanted to say something else, but she just grunted and rolled her eyes. Adora didn't understand what the problem was. She didn't have to bother so much about that nonsense.

"Sorry" she repeated

"Adora, tell me something... You realize she's not your girlfriend anymore, right?" Catra rebuked, crossing her arms

"Yes, I know"

"Are you going to try to get back with her or not?"

"I don't know... I want to, but... she doesn't"

"Well, then you can't do anything! You must get over it at once! You're not going to call me by her name every time we wake up together!"

"Well, first of all, I don't know if we should continue sleeping together..."

"What? Why not?"

"I learned several things when I got here. It seems friends don't usually sleep together. At least not hugging each other"

"But we've always done it that way!"

"I know, but apparently it's a girlfriends thing, so..."

"What else is a girlfriends thing?"

"Well..."

Adora blushed a lot as she remembered certain moments that now she knew were private and she couldn't walk around saying them.

"I can't say it" she declared

Catra glided smoothly over her, and saying nothing, she kissed her very slowly on the lips. Before Adora could react, Catra had already parted ways. She stared at her with her different colored eyes and asked

"Is that a girlfriends thing?"

"Y-yes!" Adora exclaimed, her heart racing

Why did Catra do that? Adora knew that Catra knew kissing was a romantic thing, you couldn't kiss someone unless you were in love with that person! This is how it worked!

"You have to love a person to be able to kiss them, those are the rules" Adora murmured, without taking her eyes off Catra

To her surprise, the girl gave a mocking laugh.

"What? Adora, don't be so silly! There are no rules for these things! No one will come to punish you for kissing someone!"

"But a kiss is something special!"

"You don't have to love the other person to kiss them, silly"

"Oh no? Then why do they do it?"

"Because it feels good, nothing else"

"Oh... well, then this doesn't mean you love me, right?"

Catra rolled her eyes and slapped her forehead with her palm. Adora was very confused. She thought all kisses felt the same, but Catra's lips were nothing like Glimmer's.

"Adora, you're a dork" Catra sighed

Adora frowned, wondering what Catra was referring to. Let's see... Glimmer had been jealous of Catra... the night before Catra asked if Adora had never had feelings for someone else... She too had been saying that she deserved someone better than Glimmer and had been upset because he had called her 'Glim'... oh.

Ohhhhh...

"Oh"

Catra looked at her. She seemed ready to punch her, but at the same time she was holding back her laughter.

"Okay," Adora muttered, blushing.

"Don't worry, you don't have to be weird" Catra said, approaching

"I don't know what to say"

"You don't have to say anything"

Catra wanted to kiss her again, but Adora leaned back a little, her heart still pounding.

"If you like me why didn't you come with me? Why did you try to hurt me so many times?"

"It was all very confusing, okay?" Catra replied, visibly frustrated "I was hurt because you had left without me. And then I really liked that you weren't around anymore, so I could prove what I was worth... And if defeating She-Ra was necessary, I was going to do it"

"So, did you choose power before me?"

"You're not gonna make me feel guilty, you just realized it right now!"

"I'm just saying that I not only offered you to come with me once. They were at least four times"

"I was upset with you for leaving me behind! I wanted revenge"

"Destroying the world?"

"If necessary, yes"

Adora growled. She wasn't sure she fully understood it.

"But hey... that's already behind" Catra made her see "I know I hurt you. But you also hurt me"

Adora knew that. She had wondered more than once what had happened if she had let Catra go with her to fetch the sword from the Whispering Woods that night. Perhaps she would have joined Glimmer and Bow as quickly as she did. Or perhaps the story would have been the same. There was no way to know.

"Sorry. Really. I was a bad friend, but you didn't want to come, and you let me know it. I assumed you didn't mind keeping me away"

"You know I'm not good with... feelings" Catra growled

"I'm sorry Catra. Seriously"

"I know. I'm sorry, too. For hurting you. For crushing you and your troops in the war, no. I don't regret that"

"It's not funny, a lot of people got hurt"

"It's what a war means. But now we will end it since it seems that we're finally on the same side again. I don't know how, but here we are"

Adora nodded, with a half-smile.

"So, can I continue the kiss or not?" Catra asked

Adora gently shook her head and murmured "I'm sorry"

Catra sighed, giggling sadly, and said, "It's because of Sparkles, right?"

The blonde nodded slightly.

"Adora... that ended" explained Catra "We already said it many times"

"I know, yes. She told me, but just because she's not my girlfriend now doesn't mean I don't want to be with her anymore"

"But she's... not good for you"

"I think she is. I'm really sorry, Catra, but I want to be with Glimmer"

"But she doesn't love you anymore"

"I can't help but feel like this. If I can't be with her, I don't want to be with anyone, at least for now"

"Alright"

Catra sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, and wrapped her tail around her legs. Adora felt very bad. Now she wanted to know what she would have done if she known this before. Before even leaving the Horde.

Not knowing what else to do or say, she put an arm around Catra. She hissed, but didn't move away, on the contrary, she leaned her head under Adora's chin.

"I missed you so much" Adora confessed once again, this time with the sincerest voice that came out "I want us to be friends again. But this time without secrets or bad things. If I do something that makes you feel bad, tell me. I also had a hard time getting used to it, but we're no longer in the Fright Zone, we can tell how we feel, and it feels good"

"Well... I feel bad because you prefer Sparkles" Catra muttered

Adora wondered if Catra could hear how fast her heart was beating. She pulled away from the girl a little and gently tilted her chin to make her look up. They stared into each other's eyes for several seconds, during which Adora wondered if what she was going to do was right or wrong.

In the end she just did. She approached Catra and kissed her gently. Catra didn't seem surprised because she kissed her back immediately. For Adora that kiss was very different from the only ones she knew. It wasn't better or worse, just different.

It was Catra who separated from her. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, and then Catra hugged her very tightly.

"I can't do this, Catra" Adora said, hugging the girl

"I know" Catra replied, without releasing her "But I'm not going to let it be so easy for you to choose Sparkles"

Adora felt bad. Confused, hurt...

"Catra, please... I need to know..."

"Tell me"

"Glimmer told you something else about me? Something you haven't told me?"

"Something like what?"

"Forgive me for asking you this now... Did she tell you she missed me? If she wanted to get back with me?"

"Adora, you can't be such a bitch to ask me that right now!"

"I'm so sorry, but please..."

"As far as I know, Glimmer doesn't want to know anything about you"

"Oh... Fine"

Catra walked away from her, but Adora didn't even want to look at her. She stared down and felt a tear trickle down the tip of her nose.

"C'mon Adora" Catra said, almost begging, putting a hand on her shoulder "I know you're sad, but Sparkles... well, I didn't like how she treated you yesterday"

"Neither do I" Adora confessed, wiping away her tears "I already told you she always told me she didn't care about She-Ra, but yesterday... well... it sounded just the opposite, didn't it?"

"Absolutely. The worst thing is that YOU were going to apologize to HER. Why? Does she normally make you feel bad? Do you always apologize for everything?"

"Of course not"

But she wasn't sure what she was saying. Now that she thought about it, she did apologize a lot to Glimmer, always before she got mad when Adora felt like she was making a mistake.

"Don't worry, Adora" Catra insisted "Look, I know you're not going to get through this anytime soon, but can you try? C'mon, we can go for a walk around there... or if you want to keep yourself busy, we can talk about how we are going to make the Horde join us"

"Sure, we should think about that. Or we could talk about you having to fix things with Scorpia"

"Well, that's what I was doing yesterday when you couldn't find me"

"Really? And how did it go?"

"She needs some time too... I'm really a terrible friend"

"Yep, that's true"

"Wow, thanks for that"

"But I know you can improve. I know you can be great, just give Scorpia time and then show her"

"I don't expect her to speak to me again, but I hope she will forgive me"

"I'm pretty sure she will"

Adora went back to bed and covered herself with the blankets. Catra threw herself on her and said "What are you doing? Don't you have princess things to do? Get up!"

"I don't have any princess thing to do" Adora growled, trying to get Catra off her

"Are you saying we can stay in bed all day?" Catra asked, smiling, and wagging her tail from side to side

"Not all day! Maybe an extra hour. Or two"

Catra lay down next to Adora on her back without saying anything. Adora was happy. Happy to have Catra around again, although it had been very weird to hear her confession. Adora knew she could be very distracted and didn't pay much attention to detail, but she still couldn't believe she hadn't realized that before.

She turned to Catra, only to discover that she was looking at her. The girl gave her a quick kiss on the lips, which Adora returned on reflex.

"Catra..." Adora started, somewhat embarrassed by what she had just done

"I know, it's the last one" Catra assured

Adora raised her eyebrows. Catra giggled, gently stroking Adora's hair.

"At least for now" she added "We'll see if you want a few more later"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what Glimmer is going to think about this.  
> Thank you so much guys! Let me know if you like this chapter


	3. The Mess I Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer knows she wants to fix things with Adora, what she doesn't know is how. And Catra is not helping her find out.

Glimmer generally hated war meetings. Most of the time, the plan was obvious, and when it wasn't, they were things that could be decided at the moment of truth, on the battlefield. Yes, okay, agreeing to execute a plan was super important, but spending so many hours on that? Glimmer had always preferred to rush to attack and see what happened. At least the last few times that had worked out pretty well for her.

Above all, she hated war meetings when she had something else on mind that kept her from concentrating and wanted to attend to it, and she couldn't because of having to stay there. Perhaps on another occasion she would have left the meeting, but now her father was there, and she was not going to be like an immature in front of him.

Oh god... her father was there. Glimmer still couldn't believe it. So many years believing that he had died, but there he was... The day before, he and Glimmer had talked a lot, about many things, of course, but it had been especially healing to talk to him about her mother. Glimmer told her the story as she knew it. That was a heavy blow to King Micah. All that time on Beast Island imagining seeing his wife again someday, and now this... he was sad, of course, but at the same time he was proud that Queen Angella's sacrifice had been worth it. It goes without saying that he didn't blame Adora for what happened.

And yes, the thing that hadn't let Glimmer focus on the meeting was precisely Adora. Or rather, the absence of Adora.

The meeting was over, and Glimmer waited until only the rest of the princesses were left in the war room before asking. It sure seemed too obvious, because as soon as the door closed behind the general and her father, she finally let the question out...

"Can you tell me where the hell is Adora?"

Everyone looked at each other, somewhat surprised, but it was Mermista who replied "Duh... Adora hasn't been present at these meetings for weeks"

"What?" Glimmer replied, "But this is her job!"

"She quit" Perfuma reported, somewhat puzzled "You should have seen us the first few days without her... Didn't she tell you?"

Glimmer shook her head. Again, the princesses exchanged surprised glances that annoyed Glimmer a bit.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the queen asked Bow

"I thought she was gonna tell you!" he replied "You talked to her yesterday, right?"

"I... didn't"

There was an awkward silence. Glimmer didn't go looking for Adora. She knew the girl was desperate to talk to her, but she just let it go. She didn't feel like talking, so she didn't think about what Adora might be feeling, or if she had something important to say.

"Wait a minute, I'm a little confused" Scorpia, who already had her place at the table, intervened "You and Adora aren't supposed to be... you know..."

They all turned to Glimmer. She froze for a few seconds, then ran her hand through her hair as she spluttered "Well, it's... kinda complicated. The truth is..."

"Everything seems to indicate that they broke up and Adora never said anything" Entrapta said aloud, with a smile, as always. "It is a pity; it was my opportunity to study romantic relationships between individuals"

Everything was silent for several seconds, and everyone was looking at Glimmer, except Netossa and Spinerella, who were looking at each other.

"Yeah, pretty much" Glimmer confirmed

"Adora and you broke up?!" Perfuma exclaimed, looking as if she had received the worst news of her life

"Wow, that explains so many things" Mermista, who couldn't hide her surprise, commented

"Glimmer, are you alright?" Frosta asked

The queen had said nothing. She was surprised to see that it was true that Adora had acted as if nothing had happened. She could imagine her going back and forth the first few days, worried that there was nothing she could do to save her.

"You guys still haven't told me why she quit" Glimmer said, ignoring all the above.

"At first I thought it was because she wanted to fully dedicate herself to the plan to save you" Bow explained. "But besides that, she started training very hard again"

"So, she wasn’t helping the missions to take back our villages?"

"On the contrary. She helped a lot" Perfuma said "She hasn't missed a single mission. But she came as a simple soldier"

"She simply mixes among the troops and does the same as the others" Frosta added "She doesn't give orders or anything. Even though, the other soldiers follow her"

"She makes suggestions for plans and all that, but very privately so that others think it's our idea" Mermista said.

"And why she does it?"

"We have no idea" Bow sighted "She just does it"

"Okay" Glimmer replied, rubbing one eye with her hand "Thanks for telling me. That will be"

No one said anything, once again they only exchanged looks that made Glimmer very uncomfortable, and they all proceeded to leave the war room. Even Bow came out, after hesitating for a moment whether to approach Glimmer or not. The queen believed that she had been left alone, but footsteps approaching her made her see that this wasn't the case.

"Are you okay?" Netossa asked

"What?" Glimmer was surprised "I... Sure, of course"

"Hey... You have to talk to Adora" Spinerella commented softly

Normally, Glimmer had been responding in a bad way when someone suggested something like that. But with Netossa and Spinerella... it was different, they understood.

"I don't know if it's worth it" the queen said, somewhat subdued

“Of course, it will be worth it. It shows that you two didn't want to break up" Netossa pointed "I don't know what happened between you, but I'm sure you can solve it by talking"

“It doesn't matter who hurt who first, just talk about it. It's never the fault of just one of you" Spinerella added

"I'm afraid to talk to her. I've acted like a dork and have been keeping her away. I feel like I've no right to talk to her suddenly”

"The longer you wait it will be more difficult" Netossa made her see "Also, Adora is not going to be mad at you"

"She has the right to be angry"

“Then you must listen to her, let her vent. She'll listen to you too”

"Just try to... not explode" Spinerella suggested "I don't know, when these things happen, we tend to accumulate everything we want to say and end up yelling or saying it in a bad way. Stay calm and everything will be fine. The most important thing is that we have listen to everything the other has to say”

Glimmer nodded. That was exactly her problem, she used to explode very easily. When she thought she was upset, it was better to walk away. She was supposed to be happy to see Adora again, but she really wasn't. She remembered the bad times, how Adora used to challenge her authority, that she didn't listen to her, and now it turned out that she didn't have the sword anymore... She wanted to be angry, but of course she felt guilty for that... and it really hurt her not seeing Adora that morning. And worst of all, she didn't know how she would have reacted if she had seen her. She probably would have ignored her. Now she thought that Adora hadn't come because she doesn’t want to see her, despite the explanation her friends had given her. She felt it hurt that she couldn't ignore Adora, and that was horrible. Everything was so complicated… she didn't even know why she wanted to stay angry. She should try to fix things instead of making things worse...

"I know you miss her" Spinerella commented, still in that motherly tone. "So just do it"

Glimmer nodded and could only manage to say "Thank you"

"C'mon, what's the worst that can happen?"

* * *

Glimmer repeated in her mind a thousand times what she was going to say to Adora. She walked to Adora’s room, thinking about the things he had to apologize for. They were a lot of things, but she knew that Adora must also apologize... It was true what Spinerella had said, that they both had some guilt in the whole situation. She knew what Adora was like, the blonde took every opportunity to ask for forgiveness... But in a way Glimmer felt guilty in expecting Adora to apologize. Well, if she thought about it coldly, it was obvious that Adora had much less to apologize for.

She didn't think so much this time. As soon as she stood in front of Adora's door, she knocked, without hesitation. Suddenly her whole plan had been forgotten, but, well, she could improvise.

Adora appeared at the door a few seconds later. She was still in her pajamas; she was just putting her red jacket above the tank top.

"Your Maje... Glimmer" Adora said, surprised "Hi"

"Hi" Glimmer greeted, trying to sound as serious as possible "I wanted... to know why you didn't go to the meeting"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I didn't get a chance to tell you that I quit"

"Why?"

"Sparkles! Good morning!" Catra exclaimed from the inside "I have to admit that I already understand why you were complaining about the bed on the Horde Prime's ship, it's much more comfortable here!"

Adora let out a giggle and left the room, gently closing the door behind her. Glimmer froze for a few seconds, but then felt her blood boiling. Suddenly, it seemed to her that her heart turned to stone, because she felt a great weight inside her chest.

"Why is Catra here?" Glimmer asked, in a calm voice, but trembling with rage

"She had nowhere to stay. When I arrived, she was already here" Adora explained, downplaying it

"So, you just let her sleep in your bed?"

"Well, yes"

"I thought you hate her. You even threatened her with your sword and everything"

"I know, but last night we were talking, and I think we fixed things"

"Ah... That's nice"

"I know. I mean, it's not like I've forgotten everything, but it's the first step. Anyway... do you need anything else?”

Adora asked this so casually that she pulled Glimmer out of her angry thoughts.

"What? Oh, no!" she smiled forcibly "Nothing, I just wanted to know why you quit"

"I don't want to have so much... power. That's it."

"But that's not about it. The others need you to lead them"

"Actually, they have done very well. Don't think I just threw them away, if I can contribute something, I tell them in private. Everything's fine"

"Okay... All right"

Glimmer was silent for a few moments, watching Adora. Damn it, she was so beautiful. She felt like she had a long time without seeing her, like she had forgotten how beautiful she was. She wanted to put all her negative feelings aside, grab her by the neck of the jacket and kiss her. But a voice in her mind stopped her. _'Hey Sparkles!'_

"Are you okay?" Adora insisted, somewhat worried

_'Of course not! Nothing's okay! What the fuck is Catra doing in your room?'_

"Yes" Glimmer replied "That's all. Oh, and I need you to tell me what's going to happen to Catra and the Horde"

"Ah yes! We are making a plan to withdraw her troops"

_'And are you making it with her lying on you or ...?'_

"Fine. Then you could go to tomorrow's meeting to tell us what's gonna happen"

"Of course we will"

Glimmer found it very strange to see Adora's behavior. She was... normal, very quiet. She was even smiling a little. She didn't expect to see her cry and begging, but she didn't like to see her... as if he'd already gotten over it all. Damn it, that was a very selfish thought.

"Well, that will be all" Glimmer murmured

"All right. I'll let you know if we need help with the plan."

"Okay, thank you"

Adora made the move to re-enter her room, but Glimmer stopped her, saying "Didn't you want to talk to me?"

"What?"

"I-I don't know, yesterday you wanted to talk to me... I said no, but... Well, here I am"

"Ahhh yeah... Well, to be honest, I wanted to know if we were really done"

Glimmer was a little surprised at how naturally Adora said that. She opened her mouth to reply, but Adora continued.

“It's just that the day we broke up you were angry. I didn't know if you really wanted to leave me or if it was only because you were mad at me. But don't worry, it's fine. I already understood that we're done and that I should have respected your decision from the first moment. I'm sorry for not having understood it from the beginning, but everything is already clear. I'll leave you alone"

Glimmer didn't know how to respond to this. This new Adora had nothing to do with the Adora from the previous day, whose eyes could see the despair of being able to have a conversation with her.

"I'm also sorry for having lost She-Ra's sword" Adora added "It's hard, but we all accept that She-Ra is gone. I'm sorry I can't be as helpful as before, but I'm still here doing my best, although I know it's definitely not enough”

Was that a reference to the words Glimmer had used when she blamed her for her mother's death? Glimmer was simply stunned. She couldn't say anything. Her mind was a roller coaster of emotions. She was sad, angry, desperate, embarrassed...

"I think that's what I wanted to tell you" Adora finished. "Oh, and I'm glad you're safe and back. And well… I hope we can be friends again”

Adora gave her a sincere smile. Glimmer just couldn't handle all that calm. She was afraid. Afraid that this change in attitude had to do with Catra being in there. She simply teleported away from there.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Catra asked

Adora closed the door slowly. She was okay? No. She wanted to drop to the floor and cry. She was hurt. Her heart felt like it was shrinking. She felt desolate. Why did people fall in love if they were going to feel that way later?

"Did you hear what I said?" she wanted to know, without looking at Catra

"I did" replied the other girl "That was very good"

Adora didn't reply. She wasn't in the mood for anything. It hurt a lot. She wondered if this kind of pain was justification for not getting out of bed all day.

"Come here"

Adora obeyed. She walked slowly until she sat down on the bed. Catra hugged her immediately. The blonde girl didn't react, she was staring at the floor, and felt tears flood her eyes.

"You sounded very calm out there" Catra commented "What happens now?"

Adora shrugged her shoulders. It took a couple of seconds for her to dare to respond.

"Everything I said is true. But... It hurts. Yesterday I'd have given anything to have a moment alone with Glimmer because I thought..."

"I understand, you don't have to say it"

"Well, that. But I think if she really wanted to come back with me, she would have looked for me yesterday, right? I mean, we spent a lot of time apart, and I thought she would be glad to see me again... But it wasn't like that. I think I should leave her alone"

"You seem to understand very well suddenly. What's the problem then?"

"That I saw her, and I really wanted to kiss her. I want to be with her, and I want to apologize for everything. But it also hurts and bothers me that she hasn't apologized to me first. It hurts that I should always fix everything, she doesn't matter if we're not okay as long as she doesn’t lose her pride. But…"

"No, no buts! It's not fair that you have to fix everything. Listen Adora, if Sparkles doesn't apologize to you, I don't want you to beg him, or I'm going to kill you, understand?"

"I know it's not fair, but I don't care... I just want to be okay with her, I would like..."

"No! Adora, stop it! You're not going to apologize! If she's interested, she will come looking for you, understand?"

Adora nodded, but no, she wasn't sure she understood. It was silly and wrong, but she was willing to put her dignity aside to ask Glimmer for another chance. And at the same time, she wanted to force herself to leave her alone, because Glimmer didn't want to be with her and had to accept it. She wanted Glimmer to be happy, even if she wasn't with her. It was all so complicated... She was sad, upset, outraged and all at the same time.

"I don't like the way she talks to you" Catra murmured "She treats you badly and you're not seeing it"

"She's not always like this" Adora said immediately

"You have to stop defending her. She's wrong, period. You don't have to justify her"

Adora sighed. She knew very well that it was true. Glimmer could be... difficult. Sometimes. But Adora wanted to be a good girlfriend and cope with these occasions. It was just that sometimes it was so much for her, and she really felt guilty when she got fed up with Glimmer's behavior. It wasn't healthy, but that's how she felt. As if she had no right to be angry even for once. But even with all this, she missed Glimmer very much. She missed her even more than when she knew nothing about her.

"Enough Adora, I hate to see you cry like this" Catra ordered "You can't be like this all your life. Either you talk to her clearly or forget about it, I don't want you to be depressed"

"I think... it's not me who should apologize first"

"Exactly!"

"So, I think I'm going to wait to see if she looks for me, or it's over"

"That's my Adora"

Catra moved a little closer, but Adora stopped her and said, "And you're not going to kiss me while I settle this whole thing, okay?"

"Hey, I know I did bad things, but at least I wouldn't treat you that way"

They both looked at each other very seriously for several seconds, and then laughed.

* * *

Glimmer wasn't quite sure what she was feeling. She didn't return to look for Adora in all the previous day. She was very upset because she had seen Catra in the blonde girl's room, because Adora didn't realize that this was a problem, and because she had no right to be upset after how she had behaved. It had hurt her a lot to see Adora so relaxed, as if she had already gotten over it... But she had no right to be angry! Okay, she didn't want to stay away from Adora, but it was she who had ended their relationship, she had to accept the consequences. And she really wanted to talk to Adora, but after seeing her so calm... She had no right to go and remind her of something that perhaps Adora had already overcome.

But she had kissed her! That meant something!

Glimmer didn't know what to think, but she did know what to do: apologize to Adora. But her pride wouldn't let her. She wanted to be sure that Adora was going to listen to her, if not, she didn't want to humiliate herself...

She sighed and opened the doors of the War Room. In a few minutes she would start a boring new meeting, but she had arrived earlier because...

She froze at the door. Sitting in one of the chairs was Catra, struggling to eat one of those salads that Perfuma prepared.

"Hey, hello Sparkles!" Catra greeted, with her tone that always seemed to be sarcastic "Tell me something, is there real food in this place or do you just eat these... leaves or whatever?"

"What are you doing here?" Glimmer asked, not stopping to think that sounded kind of rude

"Adora told me to eat something before the meeting. The flower princess gave me this thing. I'm disappointed, Adora said the food was good"

Glimmer didn't reply. She closed the door behind her and went to sit in her chair, still looking at Catra. She looked pretty good. She had changed her clothes and was wearing Adora's red jacket.

"Adora is with the flower princess, by the way. Finishing up the details of the plan that they are going to present"

"So now she will come to the meeting"

"That's right. I thought you asked her to, I don't know why it surprises you"

Glimmer felt her blood boil when she saw Catra there so happy, wearing the jacket that Glimmer had worn so many times before...

"Why so serious, Sparkles? Oh, sorry, do you prefer 'Your Majesty'?" Catra commented "I thought we were already good friends"

"Did you sleep in Adora's room again?" Glimmer asked without further ado.

Catra giggled, rested her chin on her hand, and studied Glimmer before answering "Yes"

Glimmer pursed her lips and felt her cheeks heat up.

"Don’t be like that!" Catra exclaimed, with a mocking laugh "C'mon Sparkles, it's not like I have many options in this place. Also" her tail moved gently from side to side "Adora and I have slept together for years"

Glimmer clenched her fists and began to feel the tickle indicating that the magic blasts were going to come out. But no, she couldn't...

"I knew I was right to mistrust you earlier" Glimmer muttered.

"You got me. Wow, you noticed. You're so much smarter than Adora"

"All that you said to me on the ship... You just wanted to make me doubt about Adora's feelings for me!"

"The first impression is very important, don't you think? Now Adora thinks you hate her for kissing you the other day"

"I didn't return the kiss because I remembered everything you had told me"

"Don't give me that much credit, Sparkles. After all, you already had all those doubts. I just gave them a little push"

"I'll tell Adora"

"And she will believe you? You were the one who insisted that she trust me"

"You're awful"

"Me? Have you stopped to see how you treat Adora? You were a terrible girlfriend! Honestly, you don't deserve her. And that whole scene the other day... You don't care about Adora, you just cared she was She-Ra. Adora realized"

Glimmer swallowed hard. She realized how bad it must have sounded. That had been fatal.

"You behaved horrible, and you keep doing it" Catra sentenced "If you don't treat her right, I will. You're gonna lose her, Sparkles. You and I know that Adora is a girl that is very worthwhile. We also know that you carry the advantage in this, but if you continue like this, it will change"

Glimmer froze. The worst of the whole thing is that Catra didn't speak for the sake of speaking. She was telling the truth.

"I'm not going to cheat on this. Adora is going to say at the end" Catra continued "And since I really start to like you, I'll tell you one thing: You must talk to her. That's everything. I could cheat and say bad things about to Adora, but it will be more satisfying to see how you force her to get away from you without me having anything to do with it. And if Adora chooses to be with you, well... I do care for her, and I want her to be happy, so I'll accept it"

"I also want her to be happy"

"Then stop making her feel miserable. I already told you, the worse you treat her, the better I will treat her, and we'll see what happens"

"Wow, thanks for your sacrifice"

"You're welcome. I already started anyway. You ignored her all day yesterday but after giving her a couple of kisses she seemed more animated"

Glimmer blushed completely and was about to respond, when the door opened and Adora, Perfuma and Mermista entered. Catra smiled slightly and stood up.

"Your majesty" Adora greeted, curtsied

"Don't get used to it, I won't do that" Mermista commented, looking at Glimmer

"You didn't finish the salad!" Perfuma complained, looking at Catra very offended

"Oh yeah, it's really good" Catra replied "It's just that I ate before coming. But you can prepare me a few more later"

"She isn't as bad as we thought after all, right Glimmer?" Perfuma said, sitting down in the chair that Catra had just vacated

Adora and Catra remained standing. Glimmer saw how the blonde girl whispered something in the other's ear, and how Catra smiled and said something...

Only Mermista seemed to realize what was happening, because then she said, "How strange that you didn't want to take Catra prisoner like you did with Scorpia, huh, Glimmer?"

"It wouldn't have to be. Being trapped in a ship for so long really brings people together" Catra replied.

Glimmer just smiled, wishing she could erase that smile from Catra's face. She preferred to look at Adora, who was obviously not looking at her. Her hair was down, as it was apparently usual, and instead of the jacket Catra was wearing, she wore a long red cape over her usual white long-sleeved shirt. Glimmer would have preferred to see her wearing her glittery blue cape...

Little by little, the other princesses were arriving, in addition to Bow, the general and King Micah. Glimmer exchanged a quick glance with Netossa and Spinerella, but simply shook her head and knew that they had understood.

After the formal greetings and all that, Glimmer chaired the meeting with the point that had brought them together there that day.

"Well, as we all know, Catra joined us. She's... the Horde general, I guess? Since Hordak... is not here anymore"

There was a lot of tension in the air. Catra seemed unaffected, but Scorpia refused to look up, and Entrapta looked somewhat subdued. Glimmer wondered how many unfinished businesses these three had.

"Catra was with me all this time, so it's obvious that her soldiers will be wondering what happened to her" Glimmer continued "As you know, there are still Horde troops in Salineas and Plumeria. Although they no longer represent the same threat that they used to be a few months ago, they continue to prevent the inhabitants of the kingdom from returning to their normal lives. So now I give the floor to Adora, who finally showed up here... "

Everyone looked at Adora, somewhat uncomfortable. She frowned for a few seconds but cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Thank you, your Majesty. Well, the initial plan is simple. Mermista, Perfuma and I were talking, and we believe that, for now, the Horde troops in Plumeria don't represent a great threat. There are a larger number of soldiers in Salineas, but Mermista says that they're not attacking, but are only defending and resisting our attacks. Most of the troops in the rest of Etheria were defeated and are in the Fright Zone waiting for someone to tell them what to do. What Catra and I propose is to focus on this last group first. We believe that, if they continue alone, they will want to elect new leaders and initiate attacks on civilian villages, if they have not already done so"

"And you propose that we take our army to the Fright Zone?" the general asked

"No. That would be seen as an attack. We want to let them know that we come in peace"

"So, you want to enter the Fright Zone without backup?"

"That's right" Catra replied, looking Glimmer straight in the eye "Just me and Adora"

Glimmer had to remind herself that it wouldn't look good if the queen attacked her newest ally in front of the entire Alliance.

"Are you sure you don't need any support?" Frosta asked

"We want this to not look hostile at all" Adora explained. "So, we want there to be only known faces. Catra and I would go to the front. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio, who as you know have been detractors of the Horde for several weeks, can join us as reinforcement. And of course, Scorpia and Entrapta could come if they want"

"Don't you want to take Shadow Weaver too?" Glimmer asked, mockingly. She said it looking at Catra, because now she knew more about her relationship with the sorceress and knew that it would hurt her. However, it was Adora who answered.

"Shadow Weaver is not much appreciated by Horde soldiers. I think she found that kind of appreciation here, with you, your Majesty"

Glimmer was going to respond, but Bow stepped forward to calm things down.

"I want to go with you, Adora. You're marked as a traitor and I wouldn't feel good letting you go alone... I mean, without rebel support"

"And I wouldn't feel good if you were attacked for being a rebel with a bunch of Horde soldiers. I'll be fine Bow, I'm with Catra"

That last sentence was really painful for Glimmer to hear.

"And assuming you succeed in that mission, what's next?" King Micah wanted to know; he was the only one who seemed not to understand the reason for all the tension in the air

"Proceed to withdraw the troops in Salineas and finally in Plumeria. Mermista and Perfuma would accompany us to these places respectively" Adora replied "By then the rumor of what's happening should have spread, so we hope that the Horde soldiers will join us in the hope of stopping the battle, and that there will be no rise of new leaders"

"What if there are?" the general asked

"Then we will have to attack back" Catra declared "I'm the leader of the Horde, so I won't allow any kind of insubordination"

"There probably aren't any" Scorpia muttered "No one dares question you"

Catra nodded slightly.

"That's the plan for now" Adora concluded "If you're in favor of carrying it out..."

"I want to go with you" Glimmer declared quickly

Catra rolled her eyes. Adora sighed in annoyance and explained

"I'm not going to let Bow come because he's a rebel and they could attack him. How do you think they're going to react when they see the Queen of Bright Moon? It's a terrible idea! So, you'd better stay here, for your sake"

"Are you still doing this, Adora? I have news for you, you quit, you're now a simple soldier, so I suggest that you don't speak like that to your queen. You have no authority to give me orders. In fact, you didn't have before either"

Adora turned red. She pursed her lips for a few seconds before saying "Forgive me, your Majesty. It was unwise of me to speak to you like that"

They all fell silent. Even Glimmer had thought that Adora would answer. No one was looking at them. Except of course...

Catra smiled at her a little and raised a thumb briefly. _‘The worse you treat her, the better I will treat her'_

Damn it.

"May I...?" King Micah intervened, leaning forward

Glimmer looked at him and nodded. Great, she had to do all that little scene in front of her father.

"Adora is right" he declared. "It's risky that the queen, or any of you princesses, will go into enemy lands. I agree with Adora that only familiar faces should go for the soldiers. It's still risky for those involved, but not as much as it would be if they appeared with the Alliance in front"

"I agree with the King" the general said "It's the surest thing for the Alliance, and we appreciate you volunteering to carry out this mission"

The princesses agreed but didn't say it out loud. They all looked at Glimmer suspiciously.

"Okay" Glimmer accepted, resigned "Catra and Adora, proceed with your plan as soon as possible"

"We'll leave tomorrow" Adora announced "The sooner we withdraw the troops from the Fright Zone, the sooner we'll liberate Salineas and Plumeria"

"Hey... When are we going to start talking about Horde Prime?" Scorpia wanted to know

Glimmer felt a lump in her throat. She was concerned that Horde Prime had been so quiet those days. It was obvious that he knew Catra and Glimmer had escaped, and it wouldn't take much effort to figure out where they were, so... what was he waiting for?

"That's why it's important that we unify the Rebellion and the Horde" Catra replied "Very soon it will no longer be about us and them, but about Etheria against Horde Prime. He is powerful, very much. We'll need all the help we can"

Glimmer nodded. She was realistic, she knew that hopes were low now that the Heart of Etheria was practically useless. She wondered if Horde Prime would be so forgiving when he found out about this.

"Well if no one else has anything to say... that will be all" Glimmer concluded, standing up.

Everyone who was sitting stood up too. Catra took the opportunity to whisper something into Adora's ear, and she answered something while smiling. Glimmer didn't like that face at all. At that moment, Glimmer came up with an idea... It wasn't exactly good, but dammit, she needed to do it...

"Adora. General. I need you two to stay a moment, please" Glimmer ordered.

That was clearly an order for the others to leave. King Micah hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he also came out and was the one who closed the door. In the end, only the three of them remained inside. Glimmer was furious, and she was going to let Adora know, in a slightly more... diplomatic way.

Adora looked at her seriously. Not without emotion, she could see she was angry, but she said nothing. Glimmer knew that if it weren’t for the general being there, they would already be fighting. Yes... talking about things calmly was definitely not her style.

"Your majesty?" the general said, breaking the silence

"General" Glimmer began, beginning to walk slowly with her hands behind her back "Tell me how good Adora's behavior has been under your command"

As the queen expected, Adora looked surprised. Oh yes, she had caught her. The general hesitated a moment but answered.

"Adora... Is not under my command, my queen"

"Oh no? How strange" Glimmer commented sarcastically "If Adora quit as the leader of the Rebellion to be a soldier, she should be under your command, shouldn't she?"

The general looked at Adora, hesitating for a moment in her answer.

"I guess"

"And what have you been doing then, Adora?" Glimmer pointed out, "You're not fulfilling your position in the Alliance, but you're not behaving like a soldier, either. You're not under anyone's command and you present yourself to battles and meetings that please you?"

Adora didn't reply. Glimmer had her where she wanted her. She couldn't say anything because everything the queen claimed was true.

"Too bad nobody noticed before! That makes you look really bad, Adora"

"Okay, you're right. What do you want me to do?" Adora asked abruptly, frowning

Glimmer raised an eyebrow and looked at the general. She understood the message immediately and spoke in a strong and intimidating voice.

"Be careful how you speak to the queen, soldier!"

Adora frowned at Glimmer and squared herself. She curtsied and murmured, in a furious but calm voice "Forgive me, your majesty"

"Too much freedom for a soldier, Adora" Glimmer commented, sitting back in her chair. In fact, acting this way made her feel... so good "You better adjust to the lives of the other soldiers. General, can you tell her what to do now?"

"First thing tomorrow morning I want you ready for morning training. I don't care if your mission starts later and you're tired, it's what any other soldier would do" the general ordered "You don't direct the mission, in this case you will be under the orders of Princess Scorpia, and if she chooses not to show up, of General Catra. When that mission is over, you will remain under the command of your assigned captain. You'd better get rid of that cape, and you should tie or cut your hair. This time I'll forgive your insubordination towards Queen Glimmer, but the consequences will be serious if it's repeated. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am" Adora replied

Glimmer smiled. She was failing in her goal of reconciling with Adora, but dammit, it felt so good to see her shut her mouth for once...

"Oh, there's something else" Glimmer said, feeling liberated from finally saying it "I noticed that you were spending the last nights with Catra"

Adora made no move except her lips to say "I didn't think there was anything wrong with sharing my room with..."

"Your room? That's where you're wrong. When have you heard of a simple soldier who has a room in the castle? No. _You_ were sleeping in _Catra's_ room. Don't let it happen again. I don't want to see you in the castle unless I tell you to. General, assign Adora to one of the camps"

"Are you fucking serious right now?!" Adora exclaimed "Damn Glimmer, it's not my fault that you're jealo..."

"Soldier!" the general reprimanded her "I think your captain will be happy to put you in your place. It's your first day and you already deserve a punishment"

Glimmer couldn't help but giggle. She cleared her throat and said "Don't think I'm the bad guy, Adora. General, put her in the same camp as her Horde friends. Make her feel at home"

Adora didn't say anything more, but she didn't take her blue eyes off Glimmer for a second.

"That's all. Take her away from here" Glimmer ordered

"As your majesty orders"

Adora was still looking at Glimmer, very angry, and only broke eye contact when the general pushed her to advance to the exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay Gim, that's... not a great plan.  
> Thank you guys! Let me know if you enjoyed this!


	4. What Have We Become

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer kicked Adora out of the castle, but she definitely won't be alone.

That night, Adora practically crawled to the tent her captain had assigned her. Her welcome to the soldiers' camp had not been exactly kind. Her captain had punished her after the general informed her that she had been disrespectful to the queen. She'd done a lot of push-ups and had to unload several supplies for the soldiers by herself. And for what? For getting mad at Glimmer?? Dammit…

She didn't understand Glimmer's attitude. Okay, so she was right, Adora hadn't done the right thing as a soldier... But hey! She didn't have to punish her or kick her out of the castle. Adora wasn't a fool, she knew that Glimmer was angry about Catra and about what had happened the day before during their conversation... But it made no sense! Adora was doing what Glimmer had asked her weeks ago: leave her alone. It wasn't being easy for her, because she knew very well that she was still in love with Glimmer, but she was simply... She wasn't being a good ex. Was she upset that Adora wasn't kneeling at her feet begging her? Or because of the whole She-Ra sword thing? She had no doubt that Glimmer was angry about Catra, but still had no right to behave so badly. Adora was beginning to wonder if it was really worth continuing to think of Glimmer as something else.

It even hurt to raise her hand to run the tent door that would now be her home. Upon entering, she saw that Glimmer had fulfilled what she had said.

"Adora!" Kyle exclaimed, surprised

"Hi guys," she said, with a small smile.

Kyle got up and ran to hug her. Adora gasped for a few moments. She didn't remember Kyle being that strong. In fact, she couldn't remember ever seeing him so well. He seemed more relaxed, more confident...

Rogelio and Lonnie weren't that effusive. Adora knew very well why. After all, they had been at Bright Moon for several weeks, but Adora never went to see them. Also, the last time she saw them up close was when they had rescued Bow and Glimmer from the Fright Zone, and that had included a fight and Lonnie saying 'We were your friends'.

Adora had never seen it like this, to be honest. Now that she knew what it was like to have friends, she realized that she had never had anything like that before. But it wasn't their fault. In the Fright Zone you only had to worry about yourself. Worrying about others was seen as a weakness.

"So, the powerful She-Ra finally remembers us, huh?" Lonnie commented, crossing her arms

"Well… to be honest we will now be tentmates" Adora announced, breaking the hug.

"What's up, princess? They kicked you out of the castle”

"Well... Yes"

Lonnie and Rogelio seemed very surprised to hear that. Kyle cleared his throat and said "Well... then c'mon in, sit down"

The cadets had been drinking tea around a small table in the center of the tent. Adora and Kyle sat down, the girl not without some pain. Rogelio didn't make a single noise but poured Adora a cup.

"So... I see that you finally decided to get the undercut" Lonnie commented, trying to break the tension

"Oh yeah. Actually, it's just a sidecut, I did it for this wound… you know” Adora replied.

Rogelio and Kyle looked at Lonnie and Adora alternately, as if they expected that at any moment, they would hit each other.

"I'm so sorry" Adora finally said

"Why? For betraying us? For leaving us behind? For all those times we had to fight with your new friends?”

"Yes, basically, for all that"

"Listen Adora, I know that Catra was always your best friend and that, but it was very cruel of you to offer leave the Fright Zone to her and not to us"

Adora looked at her for several seconds without saying anything. Kyle and Rogelio seemed very interested in their cups of tea.

"I... I didn't think that mattered..." Adora muttered

"Of course it mattered! We would have run away with you if you had given us the opportunity!” Lonnie exclaimed, hurt "But you only cared about Catra"

"I had no idea"

"Of course not. You never have idea about anything, Adora”

"You could have leave any day"

"No" Kyle intervened "We wouldn't have known what to do. You were our leader, our friend… You left us alone… with Catra”

"I know you haven't noticed in all these years, but Catra is horrible" Lonnie assured

"I know. I mean, now I know. But she… she's trying to…”

“No Adora. You have to stop defending her. Also, that's not the point. You didn't care about us, knowing how we felt and how much we hated being in the Fright Zone with Catra!”

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know… Besides, you could've said something the day we saw each other in the Fright Zone”

"Are you joking? Any hope we had was gone when we saw you were there only to rescue your new friends. Please, Adora, we have known you since before we learned to walk, and you didn't care about any of us”

"I'm awfully sorry. I'm… a bad friend”

"Yes, you are"

Adora now felt like rubbish. She had been inconsiderate with them. She never stopped to think about how they felt... that had been bad.

"Well, what are you doing here?" Lonnie asked, "Why was She-Ra kicked out of the castle?"

"I'm not She-Ra anymore" Adora informed them "The sword is broken"

Lonnie relaxed her expression a little upon hearing that.

"They kicked you out of the castle because you no longer have powers?" Kyle asked "Wow, just when I started to believe that princesses weren't evil..."

"It's not that... I'm no longer the leader of the Rebellion, I'm a simple soldier again... so here I am"

"But why?! You lived in the castle! The queen kicked you out?"

"Yes... The queen herself kicked me out. What an honor"

"Isn't the queen supposed to be your new best friend?" Lonnie asked

"She is... No. She was"

Adora looked down. Rogelio put a hand on her shoulder and growled. She hated to admit it, but she had never understood the lizard.

"Well I guess this should teach you a lesson, huh" Lonnie chuckled "Treat your friends well, you never know when they send you back with them"

Lonnie walked over and hugged her. Then Kyle and Rogelio joined the hug.

"Thanks guys" Adora said

"We're glad to see you again" Kyle assured "I missed you"

"And how have you felt in this place? Do you like being rebels?"

"To be honest, it has its advantages" Lonnie commented "It's much more pleasant, the training is not so hard, and the food is good! I don't want to eat a ration bar anymore!"

"The other day I got hurt and they healed me instead of yelling at me!" Kyle exclaimed "And nobody blames me for anything"

"Everyone's very nice in general" Lonnie agreed "I understand why you didn't want to go back to the Fright Zone"

"It took me a while to get used to such kindness" Adora joked

"Do you know what's best of all?" Kyle continued "That we no longer have to bear Catra's..."

"Catra's... what?" Catra interrupted, entering

Kyle gave a little cry and Rogelio growled. Lonnie gasped and exclaimed "Catra?! We thought you were dead!"

"Dead? Well, I'm not. Bad luck, Lonnie" Catra said, sitting next to Adora "And what happened to you?"

"Well, Glimmer..." Adora started to say

"I know what Sparkles did to you, but that's not what I mean. I thought you're done with the hair poof"

Catra took out Adora's ponytail. Her blonde hair fell around her face, her bangs fall over her eyes. Catra ruffled her hair.

"I like this Adora better" Catra commented, gently caressing Adora's cheek

Adora flushed immediately. Lonnie was the one who broke the silence.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?! Catra's alive and you two don't want to kill each other?"

"Well, we settled our differences" Adora said "And I think Catra owes you three an apology"

Catra looked at her as if wanting to kill her, but then, seeing the other three soldiers, her expression relaxed.

"I've been behaving like an asshole these past few months, haven't I?" she commented

"Well yes! Now that you mention it" Lonnie confirmed "Not only the last months"

"I'm really sorry"

"What happened to you?" Kyle asked, "Why are you suddenly kind?"

"Let's just say I had a lot of time to think that I've been a shitty person with my... friends"

The other three seemed very surprised to hear that. Adora put a hand on Catra's shoulder.

"I don't expect you to forgive me right now, but I want you to know that I'm very sorry about how I treated you guys... especially you, Kyle. And... I don't know, we could try to become friends again. If you think we never were, I think would be a good time to start. I don't know, we are no longer in the Fright Zone, and I really want to be a better person... You have no idea of the hell I went through, I realized I was a dork, and I really want to change. I don't want to feel like trash anymore. I would like to know that someone cares about me and well... You four are the closest thing I've had to a family... What do you say?"

Adora looked at them and nodded. Lonnie growled and said "Well... I guess it's time for another group hug"

Rogelio growled and hugged the four of them with his huge arms.

"But don't think you won't have to compensate us for all your shit" Lonnie warned her

"C'mon Lonnie, I tried to kill Adora and she didn't demand anything from me!" Catra joked

"That's what you think" Adora said, laughing

Rogelio released them from the hug. Catra looked happy, happier than Adora had seen her in a long time.

"Damn Kyle!" Catra exclaimed "You finally have muscles!"

"It's easier to train when no one yells at you" Kyle admitted, flexing his arm.

"It's for the food, it's really good" Lonnie commented

"Did they give you real food? Because a princess gave me a plate with leaves" Catra complained

"It was a salad! It's good for your health!" Adora rebuked her

"You don't like it either!"

"Leaves? Sounds disgusting" Kyle commented

"It is, but don't offend Adora's friend"

"C'mon, Perfuma does it with good intention" Adora insisted

"Well, whatever. I guess Adora already told you about the mission"

"What mission?" Lonnie asked

"Adora!"

"Sorry! We were talking about other things and I thought they already knew!" Adora explained

"Okay... We're gonna go to the Fright Zone, we'll be leaving tomorrow. I'll give you the details after dinner. Also, as your commanding officer, I demand a sleeping bag"

"Will you stay with us?" Kyle asked. He didn't seem upset or fearful. On the contrary, he seemed happy.

"I thought Glimmer had given you my room" Adora commented, raising her eyebrows.

"She did, but I'm not going to let you have fun without me down here. I've already wasted a lot of time freaking out with power... I wish, even just for one night, to be a normal girl who's with her friends before they kill us tomorrow "

"What?!" Kyle exclaimed

"Don't listen to her, the mission is not dangerous" Adora laughed

"Well, for one night we are going to pretend that we are not terrible friends and that we are not in the middle of a war" Lonnie smiled

Adora also smiled. She was happy to see her old friends together again, conversing without fear of Shadow Weaver showing up to punish them all, without a force captain yelling at them, and not wanting to kill each other. Also, she was very happy to see Catra try to be a better person. She didn't even have time to think about Glimmer.

"Now" said Catra "Tonight we are going to dedicate it to force Adora to get a fucking undercut once and for all"

"That won't happen" Adora said, blushing a little

"C'mon, Adora! Don't pretend you just never got it because you were afraid that Shadow Weaver would scold you" Lonnie scoffed

Adora knew it was true. Shadow Weaver would have been enraged if she had seen Adora with half of her hair shaved, even though it was the haircut all female cadets wear in the Horde. For years, she never had the guts to get it because she didn't want to disappoint Shadow Weaver. Now, Adora actually loved her sidecut, and that made her want to finally get an undercut.

"You're not going to touch my hair" she said at last, hoping deep inside that this request would be ignored.

"We are two against one" Catra said mockingly "Also, you're no longer a huge magic woman to defend yourself"

Adora moved away from Catra slowly. No, forget everything, she was going to regret it. Catra noticed it and a mocking smile appeared on her face.

"Catra, don't do it" she begged, as she stood up to run away

"Don't let her escape, Lonnie!"

* * *

After kicking Adora out of the castle, Glimmer had headed to her room, determined to relax a bit so she wouldn't think about the whole thing anymore. It seemed like a great idea, until she entered her room and found that Bow, Mermista and Perfuma had been waiting for her to give her the scolding of her life. They were very outraged at how she had treated Adora. Of course, they had been spying behind the door. Glimmer accepted that she had done wrong but didn't feel bad about what she had done. She said that Adora had to adjust to the life she had chosen, and she had lied many times when saying that Catra's arrival had nothing to do with her decision. She knew that the three of them really liked Adora, so it was only logical that they were mad at Glimmer. Honestly, that discussion went nowhere, because in the end they simply agreed that Glimmer should be kinder to Adora... or at least not be hostile. She was going to do it, really.

When they left, not exactly happy with Glimmer, the queen was finally able to teleport to her bed. She looked at the ceiling for a long time, thinking.

Was it really worth it if she tried something with Adora? She was messing it up with her attitude and she knew it, but she wasn't sorry. That was wrong, very wrong. She loved Adora, but ... she didn't know if in a healthy way. She wanted to talk to her but preferred that Adora was the one who came looking for her. She wanted to apologize, but only if Adora did it first. Glimmer was a little arrogant and knew it. And at the same time, she needed to put that pride aside if she didn't want to lose her, but... what if it was the best for both of them? Adora looked calm and happy...

With Catra. Glimmer felt her blood boil. She didn't want Catra to get away with it now that she knew that everything she had said on the ship was a lie. Adora loved Glimmer, and she had doubted it for believing Catra.

No, she couldn't give Catra so much credit. Glimmer had already spoiled everything before that. Adora wasn't a fool, she wasn't going to allow Glimmer's mistreatment forever. She needed to change if she wanted to be with her...

But seeing her so happy with Catra made her want to fucking punch her! It was selfish, but Glimmer wasn't going to accept being replaced so quickly. She just couldn't. And of course, kicking Adora out of the castle had been a great idea... Fuck.

"You're a dork" she said out loud to herself

Bow, Mermista, and Perfuma were right to scold her. Adora didn't deserve that, no way. But she had kicked her out and everyone know it, she wasn't going to recant. It's not what a queen does, right?

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Glimmer raised her head, thinking _'Adora?'_ She quickly dismissed the idea. It was obvious that whoever it was, couldn't be Adora... Surely the girl didn't want to see her, plus the guards probably wouldn't let her enter the castle. Sure, it was Bow, to say things that he didn't say in front of Perfuma and Mermista...

No, she was wrong. Opening the door, she met her father.

"Dad" she said, somewhat surprised

"Hi, honey" King Micah smiled "Can I come in?"

"Sure, go ahead"

King Micah entered and sat by the window. Glimmer followed him, and for the first time she was embarrassed to say, "Do you want to talk about what happened with Adora?"

"Maybe, baby girl. Sit down"

Glimmer obeyed. Oh no... they hadn't even started talking and Glimmer already felt like she was going to cry.

"I just want to know one thing" King Micah started "I thought you and Adora were friends. Am I wrong?"

"No, she's my friend! I think..." Glimmer replied

"It's just that I'm not quite sure because what I've seen these days. You two hardly talk to each other, which seems strange to me after seeing Adora so worried about you when you weren't here"

Glimmer didn't know what to say. Her father continued

"She's a nice girl, she's kind to everyone and just tries to do her best. I think kicking her out of the castle was kinda rude and unnecessary"

"Oh... you know about that?"

"I think the whole kingdom already knows about it, darling. I'm not going to question your decision; I know you must have a good reason. But yes... I think that wasn't polite"

Glimmer nodded slightly.

"I know something bad happened between you two... I want you to know that asking for forgiveness for your mistakes is not a sign of weakness. It's the mark of a great leader to recognize when they're wrong"

Glimmer wiped away a tear before it left her eye. The king pretended not to notice and smiled a little, saying "You know what? When I was with Adora and Bow on Beast Island, there was a time when we had given up. The signal... well, let's just say it felt like that there was no reason to go on. The island itself grabs you and won't let you go that easy. I was resigned to staying there forever, but then Adora was able to beat the signal and save us. I don't know, a thought motivated her to stand up and fight. You want to know what she said? What kept her from giving up?"

Glimmer raised her eyebrows, indicating that she was listening.

"She said your name" her father informed her "She said your name and got up. She completely eliminated the signal that caught us all. She really cares about you"

Glimmer said nothing. She was feeling bad.

"Also, she told me that she just wanted to be the hero you deserve. And personally, I think she does it right. She didn't give up until she brought you back"

Glimmer hugged herself and looked at the floor. Her father put a hand on her shoulder, sighed and said in a soft voice "Listen baby girl... for many years your mother believed that I had died. And now that I'm back, she's gone. I would give anything to see her again, even if it is only for a few minutes"

This time, Glimmer let tears slide down her cheeks.

"If I were you, I wouldn't let a moment pass away from the person I love"

Glimmer looked at her father and hugged him.

"You know about that too?" the queen asked between sobs "About me and Adora...?"

"I know it, darling" the king replied, stroking his daughter's hair.

"Are you okay with it? Are you mad? Sorry, dad"

"Why should I be mad? Glimmer, of course I'm okay with that. You're my daughter, and I love you. You must not apologize to me or anyone"

Glimmer knew she had no reason to worry or cry, but she did it for all the emotions she felt at the time. Until a couple of days ago, she thought she was an orphan, so the possibility of _'coming out'_ was never considered. She had wondered many times what her mother would have said if she had found out about her relationship with Adora.

"It's okay Glim, you don't have to cry" her father comforted her, wiping her tears

"Sorry dad, I just... I don't know"

"I love you so much, baby girl"

The king hugged her again very tightly. Glimmer began to feel a little calmer.

"Besides" the king continued with a smile "Adora is a kind, brave, loyal and beautiful girl. She seems worthy of my daughter"

"It seems to me that I 'm the one who's not worthy of her" Glimmer replied, a little discouraged

"Look Glim, if you really love her, you're going to know how to fix this. Talk to her, I'm pretty sure she wants to fix things too. But if you don't want to be with her anymore... well, don't treat her badly. Just forget about her and everyone happy, okay?"

"Okay"

"But please, choose the first option! I really like that girl!"

Glimmer laughed and blushed completely.

* * *

Adora woke up very early, even before the sun came up. She someone between her arms, so she hugged that person a little stronger, because she felt a little cold.

"Good morning, Catra" she muttered sleepily.

Catra growled and snuggled into Adora's arms.

The night before had turned out to be fun. Contrary to what Glimmer had believed, the Horde soldiers were adept at giving haircuts with knives without killing themselves in the attempt. This means yes, Adora had spent several minutes with her face on the floor, with Lonnie on top, pinning her down after a playful little fight, as she watched piles of blonde hair cut by Catra fall on the floor around her. Adora finally had an undercut, and she really loved it, even though Catra had crossed the line and left her hair on the sides and back so short that she could see her scalp. Adora couldn't help but run her hand over her head all the time, feeling the softness of her new hair. Catra and Lonnie celebrated their triumph by getting beer for everyone. They had drunk and chatted late, and since they hadn't asked for another sleeping bag before everyone else in the camp get asleep, Catra stayed with Adora, caressing her stubbly sides with her nails, and the blonde girl fell asleep almost immediately, because of these caresses, the alcohol and the fatigue.

"It's time to wake up" Adora murmured, although she didn't want to get out of the sleeping bag

Catra growled, until her grunts turned into words "...have to wake up so damn early? It's not even dawn yet!"

"My captain told me he would wake us up first thing"

"No one has woken up yet!"

Catra turned to face Adora. She looked at her and giggled.

"Oh right, your hair" she laughed

"You finally did it"

"Shut up, you love it"

Catra started stroking Adora's undercut again. The girl felt a tickle. She blushed.

"Catra... we have to stop this" Adora sighed

"Oh yeah? And what's 'this'?"

"Well... _this_..."

"I don't know. You're the one hugging me... Don't break the hug or I'll kill you"

Adora giggled but wanted to sound serious again.

"Sorry Catra. I don't want to play with your feeling..."

"Adora, you don't have to tell me. I know we're like this because I approached you, otherwise you wouldn't, or am I wrong?"

"Well..."

"I know the answer. But listen... I realize what's going on. You're still in love with Sparkles, and I know I can't change that"

Adora nodded, pursing her lips, somewhat embarrassed.

"Then why do you insist?" she asked, hoping not to sound rude

"Because you don't take me away!" Catra chortled "And I don't see Sparkles around here"

Catra kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Besides" the girl added, getting so close that Adora felt her lips brush hers "The queen is not your girlfriend right now, and I don't see her trying to fix things with you"

"Catra, even so..."

"Just shut up. You have no commitment to her and I'm going to take advantage of that while it lasts"

Catra kissed her, caressing her head with both hands. Adora allowed it.

Glimmer wasn't paying attention to her. Apparently, she didn't want them to get back together and had kicked her out of the castle just because. Adora owed her nothing.

She kissed Catra back, even pulled her a little closer, hugging her around the waist. Catra didn't stop, in fact, she kissed Adora with more intensity.

"How far do you want to go with this?” Adora asked, separated just a little "I'm talking about _us_ , not about... this... particular situation... right now..."

"Damn it, Adora, don't be so prude! I don't want to involve feelings yet. You're crazy for Glimmer and I honestly just want to have you for myself while she stays away"

"Is this allowed? I just thought you needed to be girlfriends to..."

"Adora... you're so... ah, it doesn't matter. There's no code or rules, get over it. I don't want to be your girlfriend, I just want us to do girlfriend things, do you understand?"

"So, you don't want us to be more than friends"

"Well I guess we could, when you get over Sparkles... I can help you forget her if you want to"

Catra kissed her intensely again, biting her lower lip.

"Catra..."

"Shut up, Adora"

"Oh damn, I don't know why this doesn't surprise me" another voice said

Catra and Adora immediately separated and looked to where they had heard the voice. Lonnie was awake, already sitting.

"Shadow Weaver would kill you both" she said, laughing

"How lucky that she's not here, right?" Catra replied

"So, what's going on here? Are you girlfriends?"

Adora blushed completely and mumbled a couple of excuses. Catra went ahead and answered "No. Adora has a girlfriend, so it's better that nobody finds out about this"

"Geez Adora, I didn't think you were that kind of person" Lonnie commented

"I'm not! Ah, don't listen to her!" Adora hissed

Before they could respond, the horn sounded to call the soldiers to morning training. Adora tried to stand up, but Catra stopped her, taking her by the collar of her shirt and kissed her, saying "See you on the mission, cadet"

"See you then, commander"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know that Micah is a glimmadora shipper lol


	5. Don't Deserve You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer will do whatever it takes to get her apology from Adora, even if that includes hurting her.

"So basically, I do love Adora, but I just want her to listen to me and acknowledge that she was wrong too"

Bow nodded slightly, watching Glimmer closely. They were walking to the rebel troops' camp, while the queen told her friend all the things she had thought about the situation during the night.

"Don't look at me like that, just tell me what you think" Glimmer demanded, somewhat embarrassed

"Well... You haven't talked to her" Bow replied "I think she had several things to say that could solve everything. It seems to me that all this is because you are not giving her the opportunity to explain"

"I just don't want to-"

Glimmer cut herself off. She was a little embarrassed to admit it.

"You don't want... what?" Bow encouraged her to continue

"Adora is... okay with this" Glimmer explained "She's happy, calm. Especially because she's with Catra. I don't want to have to face that she probably doesn't want to be with me anymore"

"I understand. You're very jealous of Catra"

Bow giggled, but to Glimmer, that wasn't funny.

"Of course!" she exclaimed "I don't know how she did it, but Adora hated her and in a few minutes of talking to her, they were already friends again! Why can't I do that?"

"Well, you know that Adora never stopped caring about Catra" Bow replied, shrugging. "She's her best friend, after all"

"Despite all that she did... Adora forgave her"

"I thought she was your friend too"

"No. Well, yes... I don't know. Being with her in Horde Prime's ship was much better than being alone. She's a nightmare, but I kinda like her. But well... Now she confirmed that she wants something with Adora. I don't know if I can compete with her"

"It is not a competition! At least not with a girl like Adora. Glim, I was the one who was with her all this time, I saw her cry many times, I know that she really loves you. I just... I want you to realize that Adora loves you, it's not fair that you just... give up on her"

Glimmer knew she wasn't giving up. However, she wasn't making the right moves. Catra, on the other hand, seemed to have everything carefully planned.

"I'm not doing things right" the queen murmured

"No" Bow confirmed "You turn a little hostile when you don't know how to act. Honestly, kick her out of her room was-"

"Don't even remind me. But at least I took her away from Catra"

Bow sighed and stopped her for a second, looking her in the eye as she advised, "You have to control these mini-fits of anger, you're not doing yourself any favors. Anyway, I'm sure you're going to treat her badly a few more times before reconciling with her"

"What? Of course not! No more unjustified anger! I'm going to get Adora back and you're going to eat your words!"

"Of course, if you say so... Just try to listen to her. Please"

Glimmer sighed and smiled, looking at him.

"Thanks Bow" the queen said "You're supporting me even after how I have behaved"

"You know I always support you" Bow assured "You're my friend. But remember that Adora is also my friend. I love you both, I don't want you guys to hate each other"

"Did you also advise Adora about me?"

"Sure, I do, but I won't tell you what I said to her"

"Of course you won't..."

The two friends had finally arrived at the camp, where the soldiers saluted them when they saw them pass. They headed toward the armory, where Glimmer knew Catra, Adora, and the rest of her squad would be.

Adora, already in armor, was helping Catra put on hers. As soon as they saw them approach, Adora and the other soldiers, except Catra, stood up and saluted her, saying in unison "Your majesty"

Glimmer hated that Adora did that, despite how she behaved towards her the night before.

"Good morning, my queen!" Catra greeted sarcastically "And Bob, of course. What's up? What are you doing here?"

"We just wanted to wish you good luck on your mission" Bow replied "Could you stop calling me Bob?"

"Oh c'mon, it's a pet name! Sparkles doesn't mind me calling her that, right?"

Glimmer was going to respond, but Catra pointed to her squad and said "They're Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio. We grew up together in the Horde"

"Kyle! Of course!" Bow exclaimed, somewhat embarrassed "How are you, buddy?"

"Hey Bow!" the blond boy replied, cheerfully "I'm doing great since we left the Fright Zone..."

Glimmer stopped listening. She approached Adora, who seemed really distracted adjusting her boots.

"Can we talk for a second?" Glimmer asked to her

"Of course, your majesty" the girl replied, although not very convinced

"You don't have to call me that"

"Yes, I have to. I'm just a simple soldier after all"

Glimmer growled and stepped into the armory tent, with Adora behind her. She turned to look at her, just as Adora took off her helmet so she could see the queen better. The blonde girl was wearing her classic ponytail with the hair poof, but half of her hair was gone. She sported a freshly buzzed undercut. Her ears stuck out a bit, but that detail made her look really cute.

"Your hair ..." was the only thing she managed to say

"Yes, Catra cut it for me, your majesty" Adora explained

"I thought I was the only one allowed to cut your hair"

"It was... kinda forced, ma'am. Catra thought it would be a fun way to spend the night"

'Don't say anything against Catra, don't say anything against Catra'

"Looks great. It really suits you"

"Thank you"

Adora wasn't looking directly at her, but Glimmer... Glimmer was studying every detail of the girl's new look. The scar on her head was very visible again. Glimmer felt a slight shiver as she remembered other scars on the girl's body, and the way she had discovered them.

"Listen, Adora" she said in a firm voice, to reassure herself "I'm sorry I kicked you out of the castle"

Adora raised an eyebrow, as if it were inconceivable that Glimmer had said that.

"Still I think it's fair that you adjust to the life you chose"

"I try to do it, your majesty. You made it clear"

Glimmer was annoyed by this response. Or rather, how Adora said it. She was there, her face expressionless, as if nothing in that conversation mattered to her.

"So, you have no problem with this?" Glimmer insisted

"No. I think you're right and it was fair. It just took me by surprise. But everything is fine, your majesty"

"Stop calling me that"

"Yesterday I said a couple of disrespectful words to you, and I suffered the consequences. I wouldn't want to break the protocol again"

Glimmer growled, somewhat desperate with Adora, and with herself.

"Adora" she hissed, after taking a deep breath "I just want to tell I'm sorry"

"Are you? Okay... why are you sorry?"

"For... for everything"

"For everything?"

"Yes"

Adora wasn't satisfied with that answer, and Glimmer knew it. The words weren't going to come out of her mouth that easy.

"What's 'everything'?" Adora insisted

"Well, everything! You know" Glimmer exclaimed

That apology was very vague. The blonde girl took a deep breath and brushed a hand over her undercut, saying "Fine. Alright. Thank you, your majesty."

She turned to leave, but Glimmer, moved on impulse, demanded something of her.

"You also have to apologize"

Adora stopped short. Glimmer could see that her hands were shaking. She was angry. But the queen could be angrier, and very, very proud.

"I'm sorry for everything, your majesty" she said, through clenched teeth and voice full of poison

"Tell me why are you sorry"

Glimmer began drawing a spell, without Adora noticing.

"Fuck, Glimmer! Are you joking?!" Adora exclaimed, turning around

Glimmer flicked her wrist out towards the rune, which formed brilliant pink ropes, which bound Adora and forced her to her knees. Glimmer was ashamed of herself, but she didn't care. She wanted to hear it once and for all.

"It's not fair! You didn't apologize like you should!" Adora complained "You are the worst"

"Tell me why are you sorry, Adora" Glimmer insisted, starting to draw a new rune "Don't make me do it"

"I've told you many times why I'm sorry! You're the one who has never apologized to me! You're a horrible person!"

Glimmer was furious and made a couple of modifications to the rune before launched it through Adora. The girl closed her eyes as the spell coursed through her. Then she opened them, relieved, as if she'd expected the spell to hurt her.

"Once again... Tell me why are you sorry" Glimmer commanded

Adora didn't respond immediately. Instead, she grunted in pain. Ah yes, the truth spell was always a little more effective if it was painful to resist.

"Glimmer, leave me alone!" Adora demanded, her voice muffled

"Tell me, Adora! Why are you sorry?"

There was a sound like something was burning, like hot metal had been put on something. Adora gasped, then muttered.

"For having disobeyed your orders so many times. And for leaving you behind on missions. I just wanted to protect you, but I know I hurt you"

"Alright. Keep talking"

Adora tried to keep her mouth shut but cry out in pain again before continuing.

"Because the plan of activate the Heart of Etheria plan actually worked"

Glimmer smiled for a few moments.

"But that's also why I don't have the sword anymore and Horde Prime is going to kill us all, so…"

"We're talking about you, Adora. Tell me why are you _really_ sorry"

"Because I'm not She-Ra anymore. I try to be a good soldier so I can still be useful to you because..."

Adora clenched her teeth. The sound of red-hot steal burning flesh or something like that grew louder.

"Because I think you only loved me because I was She-Ra. And now you only see me as a normal person and… and I think that's why you don't care about me anymore"

Glimmer relaxed her expression. That wasn't true at all...

"And I'm sorry, because I still love you even though you hate me, and I know I bother you a lot with this, but I can't help it"

Adora had begun to cry, her sobs mixed with cries of pain.

"I'm sorry because your mother died because of me! There's not a day that I don't want to change places with her to fix it!"

Adora bit her lip to close her mouth, so hard that a trickle of blood ran down her chin. That sound of something burning became very loud, and even some smoke began to come out of the ropes that tied Adora. Glimmer freaked out and was about to undo the spell, when Adora exclaimed something that made her stop for a second.

"I'm sorry for kissing Catra and having feelings for her, even though I'm still in love with you"

Glimmer flicked her wrist, dissolving the ropes. Adora fell to all fours on the floor. She had slight burn marks on her clothes and skin, where the strings had been. The blonde girl was still crying.

"I knew it!" Glimmer exclaimed, furious "I knew I wasn't the bad one here nor was I crazy! You're cheating on me with Catra"

"Is that the only thing that matters to you of all the things I said?!" Adora yelled, looking into her eyes. Her lower lip was busted, and blood dripped onto the ground.

"I expected it from Catra! But I didn't know I couldn't trust you"

Adora scrambled to her feet. The burns marks looked painful.

"I didn't cheat on you with Catra" Adora sobbed, wiping her blood with her hand "Sure, I kissed her. But you know what? She's the one who's been with me. You just pretend I don't exist. Besides, you're not my girlfriend anymore, I can do whatever I want"

Glimmer felt these words stab her in the chest.

"You still love me" she spat

"Yes! But I really hope that changes! You are bad with me! You make me feel bad for the things I do and say, and it is not fair. None of this is my fault"

Glimmer gave a forced laugh and said sarcastically "Of course, Adora. You're NEVER to blame for anything. You're always perfect"

"At least I apologize to you when I know I'm wrong. You prefer to believe that it is all my fault and make me feel bad so that I apologize for the things that you provoke"

"Is that what you think?"

"It is"

"And your dear Catra doesn't make you feel like this?"

"No"

"Well, let me tell you one thing: Catra doesn't love you. She never did. She just wants to use you to feel like she beat me on something. Not that she really cares about you"

Adora pursed her lips for a second. Glimmer smiled.

"That's not true" Adora murmured

"She just wants to make me see that she can have you whenever she wants! She planned it for weeks!" Glimmer snapped at her "She made me believe a lot of things so that I believed that it wasn't worth fixing things with you"

Adora stared at her. She looked devastated but took a deep breath and said "Even if it's true... you're doing this all on your own. You're not trying to fix anything. You're no better than Catra. But thanks for telling me... it's good to know that for you... for you both, I'm only a prize that you must win"

"That's not what I meant" Glimmer growled

"So, what is it? It's incredible that you are so awful"

Adora looked really hurt by all that. She wiped away her tears and asked "Glimmer, did you ever love me?"

Glimmer swallowed hard, and realized she was doing it again. Her voice trembled a little when she said "What? Of course I do, Adora!"

"And why are you treating me like garbage?" the blonde demanded to know "I thought I deserved to be treated this way because I always do things wrong, but now I see that's not true. The good times I spent with you don't eliminate the bad ones. And worst of all, I still love you even though you make me feel like I'm worth nothing. But... I hope I can forget you soon, I don't deserve to feel like this"

Adora picked up her helmet from the floor and said, "You already have the apology you wanted to hear, so I guess that will be all, right your majesty?"

That said, she came out of there. Glimmer clenched her fists and her teeth. She couldn't cry right now. She kept her composure as best she could and left the armory.

Of course, Catra and Bow were already around Adora, asking what had happened. When Catra saw Glimmer, she showed her fangs and made a move to approach her, but Adora stopped her and said "I already told you it was an accident Catra"

Bow didn't even look at Glimmer, busied himself wiping the blood off Adora's chin with a handkerchief.

"You better go. I don't want any delays" Glimmer ordered impassively

"Sure" Catra replied "The farther from here, the better"

Bow sighed. It was clear that he was giving up on the whole situation. He hugged Adora as he said "Be very careful. I'll be waiting for you here, don't forget it"

"I'll see you here in a few days. Take care of yourself, Bow"

Bow separated from Adora and said to Catra "Good luck. If you need help, contact us"

"Sure, thanks Bow"

The boy lightly took Adora's hand and gave it a slight squeeze. Adora smiled a little and nodded. Bow completely ignored Glimmer, just walked away from there.

"Well it's time to go" Catra announced "Adora..."

But Adora had already gone ahead. She passed Catra without saying anything, going to meet her friends.

"I think you finally did it, right Sparkles?" Catra commented, raising an eyebrow

"I think she won't want to talk to you, either" Glimmer insinuated "I told her what you did"

"The important thing is that she stays away from you. You hurt her a lot. Do her a favor and don't look for her again. You don't deserve her"

With that said, Catra turned and went after her squad.

* * *

After walking all day, the soldiers had stopped at the edge of the Whispering Woods and set up a small camp. It wasn't long before they reached the Fright Zone, but it was better to rest that night to arrive rested in the morning, in case they needed to fight or flee.

Adora had thought a lot along the way. What Glimmer had done to her wasn't right, now she had no argument to defend her. Her lip wound was bothering her a lot, and the marks caused by the truth spell were burning, so there was no way to pretend it hadn't happened.

She wasn't even angry or sad, she was disappointed. A bit of Glimmer, but mostly disappointed of her own expectations. Why had she believed that things could improve? Glimmer was really mean with her, and maybe she wanted to change but she wasn't even trying. Adora was tired of trying to get close or waiting for Glimmer to do so. There was no other reason to do it. Glimmer wanted her apology and got it, and there was nothing left to say.

She wasn't happy with Catra either, but that was another matter. Sure, she wasn't playing fair, but at least she wasn't mistreating her. She hadn't been ignoring her or anything, but they hadn't talked much either, because the others were present. She wanted the opportunity to talk to her in private.

It was past midnight, and they had organized guards. Rogelio's guard had just finished, and he had awakened Adora and then fell asleep almost immediately.

Adora was sitting by the campfire, looking at the runestone of She-Ra's sword. Bow had pulled it out of the hilt of the broken sword to try put it into Adora's new sword, which clearly hadn't worked. They had a theory that the sword had been made with a material that could only be obtained in the place of origin of the First Ones, so well... Adora carried the runestone in her pocket, just out of nostalgia.

She looked at the stars. The First Ones... if she was one of the First Ones... maybe she could find where she came from if she went out into outer space? But how big was the universe? How long would it take you to find the First Ones planet? And... was there really something for her there? Would her family remember her? Would they still be alive? She was very interested in knowing all this, because once the war ended... Well, she wanted to know more about herself. Maybe even back to where she belonged… After all, lately she didn't feel very welcome at Bright Moon…

"Hey Adora" Catra said, sitting next to her

"Hey" Adora muttered. She realized that she had been there all that time with the runestone in her hand and rubbing the back of her head with the other. She stopped and commented, with a smile "I can't help it... you cut it really short"

"You really needed a haircut, I had to take advantage" Catra smiled, undoing Adora's ponytail and ruffling her long hair. Adora sighed and let Catra have fun with her hair a little.

"Are you okay? How's your lip?" Catra asked

"It hurts a little" Adora replied. Her lip was slightly swollen and burning, but it didn't seem like a big deal.

"I'm gonna kill Sparkles..."

"Glimmer didn't. Technically not. It was my fault. I promise"

"What happened between you two?"

Adora sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear. Just remembering made her feel bad again.

"I don't want to talk about it, it's just... I wish she trusted me" she confessed "She doesn't, she never did. It's hard to know that no matter how hard I try; she thinks I'm still the bad version of myself"

"Really?" Catra was surprised "It's just... I really don't think you have a bad version. At least I don't think you had it with her, you're not like that"

"It was the version that didn't listen to Glimmer, that disobeyed her orders and those things. I already understood that I did wrong and I want to change... But she won't let me prove it to her. And now she thinks I'm even worse because I'm cheating on her"

Catra sighed and lowered her ears before saying

"And yet you still love her, don't you?"

"I don't think what I feel can be erased so quickly. Although sometimes I don't know if it's healthy to keep holding on to the idea of being with her. I'm telling you; she seems not to trust me... how can you have a relationship that way?"

Catra shrugged her shoulders.

"It's just... These days I was thinking 'If she doesn't trust me, it's because I'm not someone trustworthy. I'm shit and I deserve to be treated like this.' But it's not like that!" Adora felt tears filling her eyes. She hated crying for the same thing over and over "I asked her for forgiveness for what I did, and I really want to be better for her... But she doesn't want to see it. I think I finally see that the problem is hers, not mine"

"You’re right. You're not to blame"

"Yes, but I can't help but think she has a right to be mad at me anyways"

"Hey, it's exhausting to always be the hero. I think you have the right to get angry and say what you think, and if you hurt her feelings, fuck her! She hurt yours before, and worse"

"The truth is... I'm still deeply in love with her. But I think if I'm not, I would be avoiding me a lot of pain. Catra... am I as bad as Glimmer thinks?"

"What? Adora, of course not! You're wonderful! If she doesn't want to see it, well fuck her! It's her problem”

Catra put her hand over Adora's and stroked her gently. Adora wiped away a couple of tears that had escaped her eyes, giggled, and said "I'm not too happy with you either"

"With me? What did I do?" Catra replied

"Glimmer told me that you had sabotaged our meeting by making her doubt me"

"Ah that. Yes, is true"

"Wow, I thought you would deny it"

"At this point, nothing I say is going to make me look worse than Sparkles"

Adora tried to calm down. Catra was looking at her, somewhat concerned.

"Then tell me what happened" Adora demanded

"When Sparkles told me that she had been your girlfriend, I was furious... how that pink gremlin had managed to make you fall for her in such a short time if after years I didn't even get you to realize that I liked you?"

"Geez, this got awkward very soon..."

"The point is that I told her that surely you didn’t want to talk to her after you two broke up, because you wouldn't want to bother her. That if you were still alive, because the super weapon had probably killed you... which would clearly be her fault"

"So, you lied to me when I asked if Glimmer had told you more about me?"

"Totally true. Sorry Adora, I was trying to get close to you, but... I don't even know why I'm trying. I don't want to wake up with you and be called by her name..."

"Ouch. I'm so sorry about that"

"Yeah, whatever. Then I must confess something to you: Glimmer loves you. She loves you very much. She's a spoiled, stubborn, selfish asshole, but she really loves you. And I think she doesn't know how to express her emotions because she's a fucking bitch. But she's your fucking bitch"

Wow, if Catra said that with such sincerity… Adora didn't know how to feel. At that moment, she almost would have preferred to hear that Glimmer hated her. Those things just confused her more.

"If she loves me so much why do she treat me so badly?" she asked

"Didn't you hear me say 'fucking bitch'? Because she wants to feel like she has everything under control! She's arrogant!" Catra explained "That's why she wants you to ask for forgiveness first and maybe later she will do it. What else do you want me to tell you? You love that bitch, so go for her"

Adora giggled. She felt strangely calmer.

"No, I don't think I will" she murmured.

"What do you say?" Catra asked

"I appreciate you telling me the truth, but I don't know if I want to get back together with Glimmer. At least I'm not going to do anything. I guess I'll consider it if she asks me to"

"Wow, Adora that's... reasonable"

Adora shrugged her shoulders. What else could she do? If Glimmer really cared, she would try to fix things, and if not, Adora was willing to let her go once and for all.

"I think so" she sighed "Now... I guess after you advised me and encouraged me to get back to Glim, you not going to try to kiss me anymore"

"Is this a joke? Come here"

Catra put her hand on the back of Adora's neck to bring her closer and kiss her.

"Oh right" Catra sighed, pulling apart a little "Only if you want to, don't do it for me"

"I really want to" Adora confessed "I don't know if it's okay, or why we do it, but I want to kiss you"

Adora was the one who started the kiss this time, stroking Catra's hair. Okay, she knew why she did it. In those moments, Catra was the one who was making her feel loved and needed. She hated that it was like that, it was selfish.

"Forgive me, Catra" she apologized, breaking the kiss "I... I feel like I'm using you, and you don't deserve it"

"Hey... Adora. If it makes you feel good, I'm not going to complain about you kissing me, believe me" Catra joked "I love you, okay? And well... I'm not saying I feel good about this, but I understand that you don't feel the same way about me. But yes… I love you”

"I know it's true, and I'm kinda sorry. You know... Glimmer also told me that you didn't love me" Adora commented "And that you only used me to be able to say that you beat her on something"

"Well... And am I doing it?"

Adora laughed and said "Yes" before Catra kissed her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glim... what did you do?


	6. You Are Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer finally accepts her mistakes and wants to fix things, but it seems that Adora doesn't worry about that anymore.

A little over a week passed before it was finally announced that Catra's squad had returned from the Fright Zone. And yes, the mission had been successful: they brought with them half the Horde army. All the troops that had been defeated while Catra was gone had surrendered and taken refuge in the Fright Zone, and there was just beginning to be a food crisis when Catra's squad had come to join them to the Rebellion. Of course, they accepted immediately. It had taken them a week to convince everyone to leave the barracks, repairing machines to return, carrying whatever they could... In the end, they had left the Fright Zone completely empty.

At least that was what Glimmer thought, as she watched from the top of the Moonstone chamber how the Horde army arrived along with robots, vehicles, arms shipments, and other stuff. She never thought to see the Horde enter Bright Moon, much less do it as allies.

"I never thought I would live long enough to see this" King Micah commented, standing next to Glimmer to watch "I imagined that this war would end with us entering the Fright Zone"

"I also imagined that many times" Glimmer replied

"So... Adora is back"

Glimmer nodded. Even from the top of the tower, she could make out Adora's blond hair, going back and forth unloading boxes.

The queen knew very well that she had crossed the line in their last meeting. She could consider herself lucky that Adora hadn't attacked her back. When Glimmer overcame the initial anger that learning that Adora had kissed Catra, she was able to focus on the rest of the things the warrior had said.

Bow had been right, Adora was going to apologize for defying her orders and all that. She still felt guilty about Queen Angella, and above all, Glimmer was confused by what Adora said... _'Because I still love you even though you hate me'_. Glimmer couldn't hate Adora. No one could hate Adora... why did she believe that?

_'Oh sure, now you wonder why'_

Well, okay, she understood why, but... Glimmer was pretty sure she didn't hate Adora. She wanted to let her know. In fact, she was now ready to give her a real apology. She no longer wanted to continue behaving like an asshole. She needed to fix things, and well, she had prepared herself to receive a hostile response from Adora. It was fair. Even if Adora wasn't willing to listen, she was going to understand her. Glimmer wondered how she could have hurt the person she loved most than anyone.

"C'mon Glim" her father said "Go talk to her"

Glimmer nodded. She had been putting off that moment since she saw the Horde approach Bright Moon. She took a deep breath and teleported.

She appeared in the garden, where the Horde soldiers came and went. It was rare to see that they were real people now that almost none were wearing their helmets. They were real people, like her and her friends... maybe that's what Adora meant when she said that they couldn't just use the Heart of Etheria against them.

"The mission was successful!" a voice behind her exclaimed

Glimmer turned and saw Catra. She looked relaxed and quite upbeat. Surely that wasn't a good sign.

"I see" Glimmer commented, looking around "I have to congratulate you"

"Can you arrange me one of those... what were they called? Parties!"

"Do you want a party?"

"I brought at least half the Horde army! I think I deserve it!"

Glimmer laughed. It was ridiculous, Catra asking for a party... It was not unusual, but... it seemed so impossible after all they had been through...

"Sure, why not" she shrugged.

" I hope you do a good job! Most of them have never been to a party. C'mon Sparkles, I don't wanna sleep tonight!"

"Didn't you plan to go to Salineas tomorrow?"

"Yes. Still, I want the party"

The situation was a little absurd. The last time Catra faced her, they exchanged somewhat hostile words, and now she was talking to her as if they were old friends.

"Just because you did a great job" Glimmer finally accepted "And to welcome the new rebels"

"Excellent. Don't take too long, we're starving"

"Hey... where's Adora?"

Yeah, something happened then... Catra changed her expression. She didn't look mad, but rather... somewhat disappointed.

"Do you want to talk to Adora?" she asked

"Well, yeah" Glimmer replied

"And now are you going to listen or are you going to hurt her again?"

Glimmer noticed Catra's clenched fists. She looked at them for a few seconds, and then muttered, "Did she tell you?"

"She would never tell me anything to make you look bad but come on" Catra hissed "You stay alone with her for a few minutes and she comes out with wounds. You're awful"

"I know. I'm sorry…"

"Tell that to her. You better have a big apology planned because she deserves it”

Glimmer absently rubbed her hands together, sighed, and admitted, "I think she's much better with you"

Catra laughed with some sadness and replied “Totally. But you know something? I give up. You win, Sparkles. Adora and I had a great time these last days. But it was just a few meaningless kisses. She loves you, and I can't change that”

Glimmer said nothing. She didn't want to hear that Adora had been kissing Catra, but the other was quite valuable information… Adora loved her? Even after all?

"So I'm just going to ask you to be someone who deserves her" Catra continued "I have held myself back for Adora, but if you hurt her again, I wouldn't mind stabbing the queen in front of the entire court, you understand?"

Glimmer didn't know what to answer. Catra giggled and called out the blonde girl's name. The queen looked for her. Adora was conversing with the soldiers who were part of her squad, but immediately went to join them.

Before Glimmer could say anything, Catra said to the blonde, "The queen wants to talk to you. I guess you're important, right?"

And she just walked away, shouting "Don't forget my party!"

Glimmer flushed a little as she felt Adora's gaze on her. She cleared her throat and commented "Catra wants me to organize a party for her... I mean, for you all"

"I know, she didn't talk about anything else while we were coming here" Adora replied

Glimmer finally looked at her. She was totally intimidated by Adora's beauty. If that was possible.

"How was the mission?" Glimmer asked, not knowing how to start

"Well, it was really weird going back to the Fright Zone without being a prisoner. And I can sleep in my bed again! I think I even missed it a little"

Glimmer was puzzled by the naturalness with which Adora spoke. She was relaxed, just like Catra.

"Adora... can we talk?"

"But we're talking right know... or not?" Adora replied, genuinely confused.

Glimmer giggled. Oh, sweet Adora...

"I mean... in private" she clarified.

Adora bit her lower lip. She let out a sigh and took a deep breath before answering "No. I'm so sorry"

"I'm not going to use any kind of magic or anything like that" Glimmer blurt "I just want to talk to you"

"No Glimmer. Forgive me, but... I don't feel like talking to you now. Also, I'm kind of busy"

"Are you angry with me?"

Gee, that was a very silly question. Of course, she did, Adora was angry, and she had every right to be. But Glimmer knew her very well and knew that the blonde would never tell her.

"I'm not happy with you" Adora replied, after thinking a lot about her words "You behaved badly, and I know that I have some of the blame too but... I don't want to talk to you right now, okay? Sorry if I make you feel bad”

"No, don't apologize. You have the right to be upset. Well… go with your friends… I'll see you later at the party”

"I don't feel in the mood for parties"

“Come on, Adora, I know you love parties. You can teach your friends what it is about”

Adora shrugged and looked away. Glimmer had a lump in her throat but was able to keep a more or less firm voice to say "I'm glad you're back. See you later"

"Yes. Bye"

Glimmer teleported after that. Once in her room, she put a hand to her mouth and finally let out the tears she had been holding back.

Okay, she could understand Adora, she couldn't blame her for being upset, and she was actually very nice to agree to talk to her for a few minutes but knowing all this didn't stop Glimmer from feeling bad. But not about Adora, no, she felt bad about her own behavior, because she had been thinking a lot about what her mistakes were, how her attitude was very bad and she had to change it if she really loved Adora. It was something she already knew, but she had been through a lot of bad things, but she was taking all her frustration out on Adora, and that wasn't fair to the blonde.

Glimmer wiped away the tears and took a deep breath. She had to calm down, there was a party to organize. And she wasn't going to miss the chance to really apologize. But for that, she had to make Adora listen to her.

* * *

The queen had succeeded. All afternoon she had spent giving instructions here and there, ordering them to prepare food, music, entertainment, and so on. She knew that Catra wasn't expecting a pretentious party or anything like that, but as she had said, the Horde soldiers didn't know anything about parties. Glimmer wanted them to have a pleasant experience. The other princesses were very willing to help her. Also, all this activity helped Glimmer to distract herself a little from feeling sad and to focus on what she was going to do to fix things.

She was able to have everything ready for after sunset. They had lit great bonfires to see in the dark, and added to the moons light, it gave everything a very peculiar lighting. Before the party started, Glimmer had to step into her role as queen and give a welcoming speech to the Horde soldiers, something about how they had to be united with now more than ever if they wanted to survive the threat of Horde Prime. After that, the party had started. In addition to the Horde soldiers and the rebel soldiers, there were also civilians. There was music everywhere, and although the Horde soldiers weren't very lively at first, the rebels gradually included them in the activities.

Glimmer had only one goal in mind: she had to convince Adora to agree to talk to her in private. She didn't really care about the outcome of that conversation, but she needed to apologize once and for all, and be okay with her.

The task was a little more complicated than expected, since Adora was with her Horde friends. Also, they didn't stand still in one place. Glimmer wouldn't be surprised if the blonde did this to run away from her.

The queen took advantage of a moment when Adora separated from Catra and the rest of her squad and went to one of the buffets. Glimmer smiled, watching the girl eat very fast, as she used to.

"Hi" Glimmer greeting when she arrived next to her.

"Hi" Adora replied, her mouth full, looking at her for just a second.

"I ordered them to make these cakes because I know they're your favorites"

Adora swallowed what was in her mouth and took another piece of cake before saying “Thank you. I love them"

"Hey Adora..."

"No, Glim"

"I still don't ask you for anything"

"I know you want us to talk"

Glimmer nodded. Adora sighed and ate the cake a little more slowly.

"Please?" Glimmer asked "I understand that you don't want to, but if you listen to me..."

"I think you know now what I felt the day I rescued you, when you didn't want to talk, remember?" Adora interrupted

The queen closed her mouth. Nearby soldiers moved away a little, perhaps anticipating an argument.

"Sorry" Adora sighed "That comment was out of place"

"No, you're right" Glimmer assured "I'm sorry I didn't hear you that day, maybe we would have avoided so many... unpleasant situations"

"Yeah, agree. Excuse me, I have to go…”

"Adora, wait!"

But Adora had already gotten into the crowd.

* * *

After that first approach, Glimmer had tried to approach Adora several times. Sometimes bringing her food, going to comment about the music, and some other times she had simply gotten in her way to stumble upon her.

Adora was beginning to find it annoying. She didn't feel like talking to her, why couldn't she understand? Yes, she felt a little bad for acting that way, but she felt she had a right to be a little upset. Glimmer had done something horrible to her, and she was no longer mad at her or anything, but she didn't feel like talking to her either. It was inevitable, of course, but at the moment she didn't want to deal with it. She was very happy with how her mission had turned out, and she didn't want to ruin that feeling.

"Adora!" Catra exclaimed, hugging her with an arm around her shoulders and holding her drink in the other “C'mon! Give me a smile! What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, don't worry" reassured the blonde

"No, you're not... Sparkles was bothering you again? That girl doesn't know when to stop! Do you want me to beat her up for you?”

"Tell me... how much have you drunk?"

"Not so much as not to realize that something's bothering you"

Adora sighed, took the drink from Catra's hand, and drank it down. Catra giggled.

"Glimmer tells me she wants to talk privately" she complained "But I don't want to! I guess she wants to apologize, but last time she didn't and just… well, you know what happened”

"Ahhh yes. I still have to punch her for it"

"No, you won't"

Adora had ended up telling Catra, Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio what had happened that day in the armory, and the four of them had agreed that Adora shouldn't go back to Glimmer after something like that. The girl had given a lot of thought, but even though she knew it might be good for them to drift apart, she also thought that she couldn't just let go Glimmer. Okay, those days she had tried hard to stay away, but the truth was she missed talking to her. It wasn't easy simply pretending that someone so important to her didn't exist.

"Come with me!" Catra encouraged her "The guys and I are going to look for more drinks"

"Go ahead, I'll reach you in a moment... I'll go for a walk around there" Adora murmured, although perhaps Catra didn't even listen to her, because at that moment someone offered her another drink

Adora walked among the people, stopping at a buffet to grab some cake. She didn't overlook that it wasn't only the cakes: all the food that was there was her favorite. That couldn't be just a fluke. But she was grateful for that, after all, she had spent the past week eating the old ration bars.

She didn't really want to go back with Catra and the guys. After all, the next day they had to go to Salineas, and maybe getting drunk that night wasn't a good idea. Catra would regret it the next day.

One of her favorite parts of festivals was that there was always someone who told stories to children. Adora loved to listen to stories, especially those in the books that Glimmer had in her room... of course, it had been a long time since the queen had read her a story...

She came to the tent where the children were listening to a story. Adora was going to go inside to listen along with them, but she could barely take a peek inside the tent before regretting it. It was Glimmer who was telling the story. Adora was sure she hadn't seen her because she was staring at the ceiling of the tent while giving a battle cry. The children sounded very excited.

Adora couldn't help it, she just looked through a hole in the tent and saw Glimmer, who was talking enthusiastically while being illuminated by a shiny ball.

"Then" Glimmer recounted "Adora raised her sword and shouted..."

"For the honor of Grayskull!" the children exclaimed in unison

"Right! And she transformed into the powerful She-Ra!” Glimmer continued “Catra was no longer there, but we knew that the Horde soldiers, or even Shadow Weaver, were coming after us! So, She-Ra broke the door with her sword, and we ran away"

Adora smiled. Was she telling the story the time she rescued her from the Fright Zone?

"And what happened next, your majesty?" a boy who was sitting in the front asked

“At least twenty Horde soldiers were coming after us. I couldn't teleport yet, but we ran as fast as we could to get out of there. It may sound scary, but being with She-Ra, I knew I was safe”

The children agreed. Adora felt her heart race.

“We were able to get out of there, and Sea Hawk, Bow, Perfuma and Mermista quickly approached in a skiff they stole after fighting fifty soldiers! They didn't stop, She-Ra held onto the moving skiff and helped me. At that moment I knew that we were safe. And that's how we escaped from the Fright Zone"

The children applauded. Adora laughed. So, fifty horde soldiers? She wondered what other parts of the story she had exaggerated.

"Then Catra is not bad!" a little girl declared "She helped you escape from there! She returned She-Ra her sword!”

"It's true" Glimmer confirmed "Catra is not bad. Now she's with us! This party is because she was the one who led our mission today”

"It's very sad that She-Ra is gone" another girl lamented, somewhat discouraged

Glimmer smiled and cleared her throat. Maybe it was just Adora's imagination, but her eyes seemed brighter at the time.

"You shouldn't be sad about that. Remember the story I just told you! Adora saved me and Bow from the Horde without any magic! She was transformed into She-Ra to the end, remember? She did all those things without powers”

The children muttered among themselves, surprised.

"You don't need magic powers to be great heroes" Glimmer continued "Look at Adora! She brought me back from space without using any kind of magic! She's a hero not because she is She-Ra, but because she is Adora. She's strong, loyal, and very, very brave. She's amazing, we must learn to be like her”

"And she's very pretty!" a boy exclaimed "I like her"

"Don't say that!" another girl replied, "She's the queen's girlfriend!"

Adora felt herself blush. She saw Glimmer giggle and reply "It's true, she's very pretty..."

"Adora?"

Adora was startled to feel a hand on her shoulder, but it was only Bow.

"You scared me!" she whispered

"Sorry" the boy apologized "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, I was... listen to the story"

"Oh, I see. Do you want to come with me and the other princesses?"

"Sure, yeah"

Adora nodded exaggeratedly, too much to be natural. Bow looked at the tent, then at Adora, and smiled, raising an eyebrow.

“You know, Adora… I know she was kinda mean, but I think she's very sorry. Maybe you should give her a chance"

Adora was ready to say that she didn't know what he was talking about, but in the end she sighed. There was no point lying to Bow. Besides, she knew she could tell him everything.

"I don't know what to do with her" she confessed

"Nobody will force you to do anything" Bow made her see, putting a hand on her back to start walking away from there "Just listen to what she has to say. Let her apologize, and after that, you will decide what you wanna do"

"Will you still hanging out with me if Glimmer and I don't talk to each other again?"

"Of course! You are my friend. We have been through a lot together… I will always be by your side”

"Thanks, Bow"

Bow winked at her, smiling. Adora could no longer imagine her life without the boy, he always knew how to make her feel better.

"Wait a moment" Adora said "You're not part of a Glimmer's plan to get closer to me, are you?"

"Of course not!" Bow assured "I didn't even know Glimmer would be there"

"Right..."

"I'm serious! To be honest... the girls and I haven't talked to her too much lately. Outside the meetings, of course”

"Why?"

"Well, it feels like she's been isolated lately. To be fair, we haven't tried to approach her either”

The blonde was going to ask more about it, but at that moment she heard her name shouted, and the next thing she knew, Perfuma was hugging her very tightly.

"I'm so happy to see you again!" Perfuma exclaimed "It's good to see that you returned safely"

"Judging by your new 'do, I think you're back with the Horde" Mermista, who had also approached, observed

"What? This?" Adora smiled and ran a hand through her undercut "No, it's just that..."

"I'm kidding. Looks really nice. I'm glad to see you, commander"

"Thanks girls. Nice to see you too. Where are Sea Hawk and Frosta?”

"Frosta is with Scorpia" Perfuma replied "She's showing her the fun things that are done at a party. The two of them get along pretty well, it's like they're sisters”

"And Sea Hawk is challenging the Horde soldiers to beat him at arm wrestling" Mermista growled, but then smiled a little and added, "He's an idiot, but he's my idiot"

"Speaking of which..." Bow began to say, somewhat nervously "Adora, Perfuma and I want to tell you something"

Only then she did notice that the Princess of Plumeria and the archer were holding hands.

"No way!" Adora exclaimed, smiling "Finally!"

Adora hugged them both. Not all of her conversations about love with Bow were about her. She knew that since the All Princess Ball, Bow and Perfuma had something, but Bow had never dared ask her to be his girlfriend. Until now.

"I'm very happy for you two" she chortled, still hugging them "I love to see you together"

"Wait until you spend a couple of days with them" Mermista warned "They are so corny..."

"Oh, we are corny?" Perfuma replied "It's Sea Hawk who doesn't let me sleep because he always serenades you!"

"That’s Sea Hawk, not me"

"Right..."

"I guess now I'm the third… no, the fifth wheel in the group, right?" Adora commented

Her friends laughed a little. Suddenly Adora felt weird. Sea Hawk and Mermista had always been a couple, but now Bow and Perfuma were also a couple… It was going to be kinda awkward to hang out with all of them.

"Hey Adora... I'm very sorry about what happened between you and Glimmer" Perfuma sighed, in a calm voice

"Oh... thanks" Adora muttered, shrugging.

"Hey, don't feel bad" Mermista consoled her, patting her on the shoulder "To be honest, Glimmer has been a dork with you"

"Mermista..." Perfuma sneered

"I remind you that I was there the day the boys were kidnapped, I listened to everything she said to you" Mermista continued "And not to mention what happened last week"

Adora nodded. It was true that she hadn't talked to her rebel friends about it, and surely, they had a different point of view than her horde friends.

"I think communication is the key to any relationship" Perfuma commented "If there are things to talk about, it's better to say them now so that you two can be okay with each other. You must listen to her, but remember that you're not obliged to forgive everything”

That last made quite a lot of sense. Adora hadn't thought about it that way. Maybe that was the problem, she felt there were things that were a little difficult for her to just leave behind, and then she felt guilty for not forgiving Glimmer. But yeah... she doesn't have to forgive everything.

"So... you think we should be girlfriends again?" Adora asked

Mermista said nothing but crossed her arms and looked away. Perfuma shot her a hard look before saying, “That can only be decided by you, Adora. Listen to what she has to say, think things through and make your decision. Both will still be our friends, no matter what happens"

"Really? Because it seems this is why you guys don't speak to Glimmer anymore"

The Mermista looked at her again, and opened her mouth to speak, but Bow went ahead and explained

“We talked to Glimmer after she kicked you out of the castle. We told her that was awful, but she was on the defensive the whole time. We didn't like that she behaved so badly, so... Yes, we are somewhat outraged by that. The next day I went alone to talk to her, and everything seemed to be going well, but then she did… well, what you know. In the armory. Since then she remained very aloof”

"I think it's because she's ashamed of what she did" Perfuma observed

"I think she's just a bitch" Mermista commented "But you know me. I support you in whatever you decide”

Adora laughed. It was good to know that her friends were going to be there for her, but it caused her some conflict that they would have distanced themselves from Glimmer because of her.

"Our matter with Glimmer is not your fault" Perfuma assured, as if reading her mind "You have to stop taking the blame for everything, Adora. You don't have to please everyone, just as you don't have to worry about what others think. Do what's best for you, with what you feel comfortable with”

"So, if you feel comfortable dating Catra..." Mermista began to say

"Oh, shut up" Adora chuckled "Nothing happens between me and Catra"

"I wouldn't say _nothing_ "

"That won't happen, but thanks for the support"

Mermista tapped her on the shoulder, smiling. Adora hoped she could spend more time with her friends now that, in theory, the war on Etheria was about to end. I mean, they spent a lot of time together, but she just wanted to go out with them without worrying about being attacked or having to rescue someone.

"Hello Glimmer!" Bow exclaimed, waving.

The girls turned. Glimmer was approaching, dubiously.

"Behave" Perfuma whispered to Mermista

Adora's first instinct was to run away, but Perfuma was right. She had to listen to Glimmer in order to decide about what she was going to do with the whole thing.

"Hi guys" Glimmer greeted "Are you having fun?"

"Yes, the party is amazing" Bow smiled

"Maybe they're having too much fun" Mermista joked "I saw Catra very excited with the drinks... I hope she can stand up tomorrow during the mission"

"She'll be ready" Adora, who had not made eye contact with Glimmer, promised "Don't worry, I know her"

"Well, the fireworks display is about to start" Glimmer announced "Let's get a little closer to the shore of the lake, it's the best place to watch it"

"Sure, let's go!" Perfuma exclaimed, practically dragging Bow among the people

"Well... I need to find Sea Hawk" Mermista stammered, seeing that they left her there "He loves fireworks... you know... see you there..."

So Adora was left alone with Glimmer. She opened her mouth to make up some excuse, but Glimmer spoke first.

"C'mon, let's go see the fireworks"

"Sounds like something dangerous" Adora muttered "I don't know what they are"

“I know, that's why I asked them to prepare a firework display. I mean… for all the horde soldiers to see it”

Adora nodded. Glimmer motioned for her to follow her, not trying to speak to her or make physical contact. She just started walking, and Adora went after her. People greeted them as they passed, some with incredulous glances, others, as if nothing. This indicated that many people knew what was happening between them, but the others believed that they were still together. At least, that little girl in the store thought so.

They reached the shore of the lake, but Adora saw nothing nearby.

"What is this about?" she asked

"You just have to look at the sky" Glimmer explained "Oh, and don't be scared"

"Scared? Why-?"

At that moment, an explosion was heard. Adora startled and looked around, but Glimmer grabbed her wrist and pointed at the sky. Adora's jaw dropped at the sight of a bunch of red lights, followed by another explosion and the appearance of blue lights.

"Those are fireworks? How do they do it?" Adora asked, amazed "It's beautiful!"

Glimmer just giggled. There were more and more of those fireworks, some opened like a huge flower, others left hundreds of small sparks, others were a little smaller but brighter... Adora had a wide smile on her face, she felt like she could see that show all her life. She looked at Glimmer, and for a few seconds, she was mesmerized to see how the lights of the fireworks reflected in the queen's sparkly hair. Adora felt butterflies in her stomach and looked back at the sky.

The fireworks display wasn't exactly short, but for Adora, it was. At the end of the show everyone applauded, and she continued with the smile on her face.

"You like it?" Glimmer asked

"I loved it! Thank you for that!" Adora exclaimed

Adora looked at the queen, and she also turned to look at her. The wind blew a little, fluttering the queen's hair and making it sparkled in the bonfire light.

"Adora... please, can we talk in a more private place?" Glimmer asked

Adora nodded. Glimmer put a hand on her shoulder, and a flurry of pink sparks later, they disappeared from the shore of the lake.

* * *

Suddenly they were already in Glimmer's room by the window.

"Oh damn!" Adora exclaimed "I thought you were referring to the War Room or something like that"

"Does it bother you to be in my room?" Glimmer asked nervously

"No, but it seems a bit..." Adora cleared her throat nervously and spoke in a solemn tone "Inappropriate, your majesty"

"Adora, for a few moments forget that I'm the queen. It's an order"

Adora nodded. Glimmer wondered if the girl's blue eyes had always been so bright, or had she just forgotten to watch them so closely.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" Glimmer asked bluntly

"No" Adora answered sincerely "I'm acting normal"

"Well, not so normal since you've been running away. But I believe you. I just don't understand... how come you're not mad?"

Adora looked somewhat uncomfortable. Glimmer was beginning to wonder if it was better to let her go, she didn't want to have that conversation….

No, she had to apologize now.

"Ah... well, I wasn't mad at you" Adora explained "I was mad at myself, at my own expectations. But well, I think I'm better now"

"Aren't you angry or sad about what happened... about what I did to you in the armory?" Glimmer insisted

"I was, that day I was very upset, then disappointed... But then ... I'm not saying that I was okay with that, 'cause you crossed the line. But I understand why you did it. I think there were things that I wasn't going to tell you"

"Like... about Catra"

"Yes"

"She told me that in this day you two... continued with... whatever you have"

"It's true. I kissed her, we slept together... just slept! Don't think we... well, you know what I mean"

Glimmer turned away and took a deep breath, holding back tears. It pained her that Adora confirmed it so naturally, but she had no right to complain.

"Anyway" Glimmer continued "I know it wasn't right. If you didn't want to tell me, I didn't have to force you. And above all, I didn't have to hurt you"

Adora shrugged. Glimmer was trying not to make her feel bad, she wanted to prevent her from blaming herself for that situation.

"Adora... I want to tell you I'm sorry" she said finally

"You already told me that..." Adora murmured, frowning a little

"No, this time is serious" Glimmer assured "Forgive me for everything. For having used the truth spell against you. For having ignored you after you saved me. For having activated the Heart of Etheria when you warned me how dangerous it was... I'm really sorry about all that. And because you lost the sword because of me"

It was then that Adora began to break. She bit her lower lip and her breathing sped up a little. She sat by the window and covered her face with her hands.

"Adora...?"

"How could you do that to me, Glimmer?" she spat, tears running down her cheeks "I know... I know I've made a lot of mistakes too, but it's not fair that you treat me the way you do! You make me feel that all my effort to be okay with you is in vain. No matter how many times you say otherwise, I think you don't love me for who I really am”

Glimmer swallowed hard and sat next to her. She put her hand over the blonde's, but she immediately withdrew it.

"I just don't understand you" Adora continued. "I know what you're going to say, that She-Ra doesn't matter to you. But it's hard for me to believe it. You haven't wanted to talk to me from the moment I told you I didn't have the sword anymore... and before all this, everything got very bad between us since I... since She-Ra was no longer completely at your disposal. So, what do you want me to think? I even came to believe that since I wasn't obeying you as a soldier, you only wanted to be my girlfriend to force me to obey to keep you from getting mad at me”

"You really think that?"

"I think it's a possibility. And if so… yes, it was working for you. Until the Heart thing happened, I did everything you asked me to, even if I didn't agree. I think you just want me around because I'm useful”

"No... Adora, that's not true."

“It's what you have made me fell. Sorry"

Glimmer stood in front of her, wiped away the tears with her hand, and took a deep breath.

"Listen, Adora, I need you to understand it" she stated, "She-Ra is not the reason I care about you"

Adora growled and crossed her arms, looking down. Glimmer knew what to do. She drew the rune of the truth spell before Adora's shocked gaze and used it on herself. With some cheating, since it wasn't the one that caused pain when resisting.

"She-Ra is not the reason I care about you" she repeated, and this time Adora didn't look away "I do care about Adora, the real you, because you're a good person, you are noble, brave, loyal... You're all the good things in one person. And I'm very grateful to have met you"

"Did you really use the spell on yourself?"

Glimmer nodded. "Do you want to ask me something now?"

"Are you still mad at me because of what happened to your mom?"

Sure... Glimmer knew that was the first thing she was going to ask.

"At first, I was a little upset, and then I felt that it was all your fault. It was when I told you" Glimmer recalled, forced by the spell "But I immediately understood that I was wrong. That day I said something horrible to you, and I'm sorry I know you would have preferred to sacrifice yourself instead, but even though I miss my mom, I couldn't imagine a world without you around. And she made that decision to save us, you didn't force her to do it. So no, I'm not mad at you. I was, but I understood what I did wrong. I'm very sorry I didn't notice before. I'm so sorry, Adora. I don't think it's your fault"

Adora wiped a couple of tears from her cheeks. Glimmer knew very well that that thought had long tormented her.

"I also want to tell you that I'm very sorry about the whole Shadow Weaver thing" Glimmer continued "I knew she had put you through bad things, but I didn't know how bad it had been until Catra told me some anecdotes while we were in prison. Then I understood that I did very badly in wanting to force you to live with your abuser"

"It hurt a lot when I knew how much trust you had in her..." Adora muttered

"I just wanted to be more powerful, and she promised me power. I was obsessed with the idea of destroying the Horde and I didn't mind hurting you and Bow and everyone else. I just wanted to win, and Shadow Weaver seemed willing to help me. I think that in the end it's useful to have her on our side, but I should have discussed it with you instead of just wanting to force you to reincorporate her into your life as if nothing"

Adora nodded slowly. There was one thing that Glimmer wanted to clarify.

"I don't hate you. I've never hated you, and I don't think I can, even if I try. There were times when I wanted to punch you or something, and I was really mad at you sometimes. But I've never hated you, and it really hurt to find out what you thought that. I understand why you did it, anyway. I've been very bad with you these days, and it's all because I'm proud and stupid, and I only think in what I want. But I don't want to be like that anymore. I want to improve, because you're the best thing that ever happened to me, and you deserve someone good for you. I want to be that someone"

Glimmer looked at the floor. At the time, she didn't dare look at Adora directly. She was very ashamed of herself.

"Glimmer... do you trust me?" Adora asked

"I want to trust you" she replied "I know that you would never do anything to hurt me on purpose because you're not like that, but a part of me is afraid that you will leave me behind again and above all... above all..."

Ah, it was so embarrassing to say it...

"Don't resist Glim, at least it doesn't hurt you" Adora commented with a smile that made Glimmer feel warm in her heart

"Above all, I'm afraid you will decide that Catra is better for you. She probably is, anyway. You deserve better than me. I know that Catra makes you feel special, and I know that she loves you, and I'm very sorry to have made you believe that she didn't it, because maybe you two were about to start something and I ruined it. I'm very jealous of her, and I want to punch her almost all the time"

Adora laughed. Her laugh was so sweet. Glimmer was happy to hear it again. Adora looked at her and got a little nervous before asking "Do you still love me?"

"I never stopped doing it" Glimmer confessed, taking the girl's hand "Adora, I'm very sorry for how I behaved all this time. I want to compensate you for everything. You have no reason to forgive me, but I'm begging you to try. Maybe things can't go back to the way they were before, but I'd like to try"

"Remove the spell, please. It's enough"

Glimmer obeyed. Adora stared at her for a few seconds and finally sigh "Thanks for telling me all that"

"Can you forgive me? Please?"

Adora nodded. Glimmer felt like a huge weight was lifted from her chest. She wanted to hug the girl, but she held herself back.

"And... what's going to happen now?" the queen muttered, withdrawing her hand from Adora's when she noticed that the warrior wasn't holding hers back

"I don't know" Adora mumbled, embarrassed "Glimmer... Forgive me"

"Why?"

"I don't know if with this you expected us to come back together as a couple or something like that... but I think it's not time"

Adora's words pierced Glimmer's heart like daggers.

"But... I thought..." she stammered

"Yeah, I forgive you. And I want you to know I still love you" Adora hastened to clarify "But I don't know... I don't know if I can... Sorry Glim, you told the truth about how you feel about me, I have no doubt... But to be honest, you hurt me a lot, these last few days have been horrible for me. I know you regret it, and again, I forgive you. I know that I'm not a victim of all this 'cause I also hurt you. I don't want to pretend everything's fine that easy. I need a little time to think about us"

Glimmer didn't know what to say. Tears clouded her sight. Adora wiped her own tears and continued,

"I need you to... Change. I'm not saying I'm perfect or anything, but I wanna be sure if we get back together, you're not gonna make me feel like my feelings don't matter. I also have things to work on. I just need to know that we're not going to keep arguing for everything. I don't want us to keep hurting each other, that's all"

"Adora... I'm really sorry I hurt you so much"

"Me too, Glim. I want you to know that how I feel about you hasn't changed, but I don't want us to be together just in order to not be alone. I want us to be okay, to really love each other"

Even though Adora's words hurt her, Glimmer knew she was right. Someone had to act maturely in this situation. Glimmer looked at Adora's injured lip. Damn, she must consider herself lucky that Adora kept talking to her after all she did.

"Okay... I guess it's true" Glimmer admitted "We have to... think about it, I guess"

"That's right. Thanks for understanding. Believe me, I do want to get back together, but I need to clear some things up in my mind first and... think if this is actually a good thing for both of us. It's not just about me, Glimmer, I want you to be okay with yourself before you think about us, do you understand?"

Adora stood up to get out of there, but Glimmer took her hand again and, although she hated herself for asking, she couldn't help it.

"You're not leaving me for Catra, are you?"

"I promise I'm not" Adora assured

"Adora... do you love her?"

Adora nodded slightly, then said, “I love her so much. But in a different way”

She smiled slightly and kissed Glimmer's hand gently.

Glimmer released her hand and watched as the girl left her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm proud of you, Adora :'3


	7. In Love Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Glimmer finally clarify their feelings for each other, but a new battle is going to prevent them from being together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! It's been a while since the last chapter!  
> So... season 5, huh?  
> If you follow me on my Tumblr, you already know that I'm not exactly happy with S5, so... Nothing will change in this story. I thought I would have to make some modifications to follow the canon, but I definitely won't xD so I hope you guys enjoy this, my personal S5 canon. I have so many things prepared for you. Stay with me in this adventure :3

That morning, the Rebellion troops left for Salineas in one of the huge ships formerly belonging to the Horde. With any luck, this ship would give them a chance to get close to the Salineas undetected from afar.

Adora was standing at the taffrail, feeling the sea breeze playing with her hair. She had thought all day about what had happened between her and Glimmer the night before. She felt a little bad about the direction things had taken, but she knew it had been the right thing to do. Of course, she wanted to be with the queen again, the simple image of Glimmer on her mind was enough to make her feel happy. However, she knew she had made the right decision by asking her for a few days to ponder things.

She felt that she had finally said everything she wanted to. And she knew that Glimmer was willing to improve herself for the good of both of them. Perhaps when she returned, Glimmer would tell her that she was willing to make things work. Or perhaps she would have decided that she no longer wanted anything to do with her. Of course, if they had decided the night before, most likely they would have decided to get back together, allowing themselves to be carried away by the heat of the moment. But those separate days would give them time to think things through.

And no matter what happened, Adora was going to be there for Glimmer forever. She was going to take care of her, whether they were a couple or not.

"How are you, Adora?" Mermista greeted her, patting her on the back and making her jump.

"Hey" the blonde replied, "Ready to regain your kingdom?"

"I can't wait to kick some Horde butts and get this whole thing over with"

"It will be a strange thing to get used to living without a war to fight, don't you think?"

"Yeah. But it's okay, when we put all this stuff in order, we could just have fun and relax"

"I wish I knew how to do that"

Mermista giggled. Adora couldn't believe this was really happening. The war between the Horde and the Rebellion was finally going to end... Of course, if they ignored the fact that Horde Prime could come any day. Or maybe not... she wished he had given up on Etheria...

"I think your girlfriend isn't having a very good time there" Mermista commented

Adora turned to her to ask what she was referring to and saw that Mermista was looking at Catra, who was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall of the cabin. She looked quite dizzy.

"Well, she doesn't like water," Adora replied, "And she's not my girlfriend, you know that!"

Mermista laughed again when she saw that the blonde had blushed a little.

"I thought you didn't like her," Adora murmured.

“I don't like her. She was the one who took my kingdom. I haven't punched her just because she's your friend”

"Thank you for giving her a chance. I think she really regrets what she did, and well, at least she offered to help us with this mission”

“I'll forgive her once I get my kingdom back. Also, I guess it's fine since _you_ forgave her after everything she did to you"

Adora giggled and sighed before replying “It wasn't that easy. She really caused a lot of harm to many people. But hey, I think she hit rock bottom. She's really trying, she's apologizing to everyone. So, well... I gave her a chance”

"Wow, you're being very nice to her, huh?" Mermista smiled “Seriously, there's something between you two? It's not a secret to anyone. I'm gonna be honest here, I'm not a big fan of you dating the girl who almost killed us hundreds of times, but-”

"We're not dating! Stars... Okay. It's just that she told me that she liked me for a long time ago and... I guess I let myself go. But nothing serious happens. I mean… I don't think I've ever loved anyone like I love Glimmer”

Mermista sighed and raised her eyebrows.

"I know" Adora began to say "With everything that happened you're not a fan of me and Glimmer either"

"Yeah, about that... I'm sorry about how I behaved yesterday when we talked about this" Mermista apologized "It's just that... Look, being a princess, you don't have many opportunities to have real friends. At least until I joined the Alliance. You guys are like family to me, and I was really upset about this whole thing. Glimmer's attitude was separating us, and I was really mad at her for that.”

"Oh, I see. Nor would I want the Alliance to separate due to this nonsense”

“It's not nonsense, your feelings and hers matter. And if you wanna be with her again, I'll support you instead of judging. Also, the truth is that you two looks very good together”

Adora blushed. Mermista tapped her on the shoulder.

"Of course, now you'll have to break Catra's heart," Mermista sighed.

"She knows that I didn't want to go that far with all this" Adora replied "But yes... I must tell her that this whole matter must stop now. I don't know what Glimmer would decide these days that we'll be apart, but anyway... I don't want to hurt Catra's feelings anymore"

“You're such a heartbreaker, Adora. Well, good luck with that. I'll go find the Sea Hawk. I haven't seen him in a while, and we know he can't be unsupervised for a long time.”

"I hope he hasn't set fire to anything yet"

Mermista sighed as if to say, 'I hope so' and waved goodbye before leaving her alone. Adora watched her walk away and then turned back to Catra.

Well... it was now or never.

The blonde girl walked to where Catra was and sat next to her. Catra groaned when she notices her presence.

"I hate boats" she complained

"I know" Adora tittered "But this is the only way to get to Salineas"

"Your friend, Mermista, won't be able to say that I don't deserve to be forgiven after this"

"Did you accept this mission so that Mermista would forgive you?"

"No... I did it because it's the right thing to do. Ugh, it's very strange to say it"

Adora smiled at her. Catra growled and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Stop seeing me with that stupid smile!" she demanded

"You're already one of the good guys!"

"I guess. It's gross"

Adora raised an eyebrow.

"Okay" Catra surrendered "That the Horde took Salineas was partly my fault, so I have to fix what I did"

"I can see that you're trying hard" Adora assured "I'm proud of you, Catra"

A blush appeared on the Magicat's face.

"Thank you" she smiled "Woah, nobody had told me this before”

"It's good to have you on our side"

Catra leaned on Adora's shoulder. The blonde sighed and silently held her.

"Hey, Catra... I have to tell you something" Adora muttered, somewhat nervous

"Are you gay?" Catra joked

Adora laughed, "Well, yes," she replied "But you already knew that"

"Sorry, sorry. Tell me what happens"

"Alright. I just... I think we should stop"

"Stop what?"

"You know... _this_. You and me. The kisses and all that”

Catra giggled sadly. She pulled away from her and looked her in the eye.

"You and Sparkles are together again, right?" she asked, ducking her ears.

"No," Adora replied "But yesterday we had an interesting conversation about us. We were completely honest with each other, and well, we're gonna take these days to think about what we want"

"And you want to go back to her?"

"Yes. But just if she's willing to change for the good of our relationship”

"What if she doesn't want to?"

“Then I don't feel ready to start something with someone else. And I have to be honest… I think you and me... Us? Doesn't work”

"Oh"

Catra hugged her knees. Adora sighed and looked away before continuing, "I'm so sorry Catra. I know how you feel about me… and don't get me wrong, I love you. I love you so much. But not in _that_ way”

The magicat smiled a little and said in a sad voice, “Sure. I don't know why I thought you could like me"

"Catra... You're amazing, and now that you are fixing everything that happened you make me feel very proud of you. You're a good person, you always were. I just can't play with your feelings like this. Sorry, I shouldn't have accepted that all this happened in the first place”

"Don't regret it. I liked it, it's just that… well, I thought it meant something to you too”

"It was nice. Seriously. But I can't do this anymore. Sorry, Catra. I really don't want to keep hurting you, you don't deserve this"

"Adora, I know I can't make you forget her. You made it clear to me from the beginning, I was the one who insisted on getting you into this. Also, I was aware that at any moment you would tell me this. I can't compete with Glimmer”

Adora shrugged her shoulders. She felt very bad for hurting Catra like this, but there was nothing else to do.

"Thanks for telling me," Catra murmured "I'm so sorry for everything that happened between us. Maybe this would have worked if I hadn't been a dork”

"We cannot know. But hey… we'll still be friends, right?”

Catra stretched out her legs, smiled a little, and replied “Sure. Also, someone must tell Sparkles all your embarrassing stories”

Adora laughed a little. Catra was taking it quite well. That was a good thing since Adora expected her to be upset or something. Apparently, her friend was learning to control her emotions.

"I'm awfully sorry" Adora repeated

"It's okay, Adora, really," Catra reassured her. "You can't control how you feel. If you think Sparkles is your soulmate, I'm not going to stand in the way. But if she hurts you again-”

"I know she won't"

“Well, then I'm happy for you. For both of you"

She hugged Catra very tightly, with tears in her eyes.

"Okay, it's enough" Catra complained "I can't breathe"

"Thanks for understanding"

Catra broke the hug and took a deep breath, putting a hand to her chest.

"Hey, you're being very nice to me even after everything I did to you" Catra observed "The least I can do for you is support you in everything"

"Thanks, Catra. Really, I want you to know that-”

Adora could not finish the sentence, because at that moment something exploded as hitting the front of the ship. The girls stood up immediately, and Adora could see that they were very close to Salineas. And many armed soldiers were waiting for them.

"Weren't they supposed to be just a few?!" Adora exclaimed

"Oh, shit..." Catra muttered. Then she yelled "Everyone on deck! Now! Prepare the cannons!”

* * *

It had been several days since Adora and the others had left, days when Glimmer fulfilled her queenly duties and then went to her room. Just like that, without speaking to anyone more than necessary, except occasionally with her father. During the first couple of days — in her worst moments— she went to Adora's old room, where the queen had spent a lot of time crying because... how had she allowed that to happen? Why did she hurt the person she loved the most? Was this what a broken heart felt like?

After two or three days, she calmed down a bit and began to think more objectively. Adora had acted with maturity. Glimmer had thought about it a thousand times, and in the end, she concluded that she had to apologize again and then she would have to prove to Adora that what she felt for her were sincere — that she wanted to be by her side because she truly loved her and not just for a whim or anything like that.

Glimmer used that time alone with herself to reflect on many things. Adora was right, she had a lot to work on. She had to trust Adora a little more — her decisions, her advice, and that the things she did were never malicious. She had to show Adora that she was willing to change, not only for the good of their relationship but also to be a better queen and a better person.

And after so many days of reflection — when she was finally able to feel okay with herself — she decided she was going to ask Adora to be together again. She was going to propose that they start from scratch. She wasn't going to let her go again.

She was so sure of this decision that she told her father everything. Micah was very happy to see that Glimmer was being so mature with all that situation. And of course, he was happy that Adora will officially be part of the family.

And finally, the day came. The rebel ship's crew returned just over a week after leaving. So close to the moment of truth, Glimmer began to feel a little nervous about seeing Adora again, but of course, at the same time, she was happy. She wanted to receive the girl and talk to her to show her that their little conversation had had a positive effect on her. Of course, after they gave her the report that everything had gone well...

That had been her expectation. At least until she went down to the rebel camp just to see the hurt soldiers, and a very serious Mermista, seeing how they were being transferred to the infirmary.

"What happened?" Glimmer asked Mermista when she arrived next to her "Don't tell me that Salineas..."

"No. We get Salineas back," Mermista confirmed, allowing herself to smile for a few seconds

"And then why do you all look so depressed? And why are there so many injured soldiers?"

"It turns out that some Horde leaders were unwilling to surrender"

Glimmer felt a cold sweat on her back. She started looking for Adora.

"What?" she gasped, starting to despair a little when she didn't see the blonde girl around "But I thought Catra said that-"

"Well, apparently not everyone agreed to surrender to the Rebellion," Mermista explained. "Fortunately, we carried enough weapons. But to be honest, we win by luck. There are so many injured soldiers. And the bad news doesn't end there"

"Mermista... sorry, but... where's Adora?"

The princess giggled. She nodded toward a point behind Glimmer. The queen turned and saw Adora walking with some difficulty, assisted by Catra and Kyle.

"Don't worry, she's fine" Mermista reassured "Just a few blows, calm down. I'm fine too, thanks for asking”

Glimmer completely blushed.

"Sorry, I..." she stammered

"Yeah, it's okay. I know you were worried about your girlfriend "

Glimmer became even more nervous. Mermista patted her on the shoulder and began to say, “Hey, I know things have gotten weird lately. Can we forget everything and become friends again?”

Glimmer breathed a sigh of relief. It was true that she had strayed far from her friends, so hearing Mermista say that felt very liberating.

"I know I behaved like a fool," Glimmer admitted.

"Yes, you did" the blue-haired girl agreed "But you know... If Adora already forgave you, I think I have no reason to stay mad at you"

"Adora told you something about me?"

"Sure! Now we are best friends”

Glimmer was going to ask a little more about that, but at that moment the trio of ex-Horde soldiers joined them.

"Your majesty" Kyle saluted

"Ah, don't do that, you fool" Catra complained "Now we have to do it too"

Glimmer giggled. The boy got a little nervous and spluttered, “Okay. I... will go help others"

He ran out of there. Glimmer looked at Adora, who smiled sweetly at her while saying "Hey Glim"

"Adora," she replied, and couldn't help but smile back.

"Hello, Sparkles!" Catra exclaimed "I'm _also_ glad to see you"

Mermista laughed. "It’s not personal; she didn't ask me how I felt either"

"Enough!" Glimmer grunted, then taking a deep breath to calm herself. "What were you telling me about more bad news?"

"Oh yeah. We beat them and get Salineas back, but we don't have any prisoners"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that the Horde troops who refuse to surrender were grouped in the only kingdom they have left" Adora reported.

"Plumeria?" Glimmer muttered

Adora nodded.

"There's a small army in Plumeria that's not gonna join us so easy" Mermista confirmed "And Perfuma believed that recovering her kingdom would be easy..."

"And what's gonna happen now?"

"We must prepare to attack" Catra suggested "It wasn't the original plan, but these troops are gonna try to resist as much as they can. I have no idea who's leading them, but they will suffer the consequences of disobeying my orders"

"Okay, I guess we have no other choice. But I'm glad we at least got Salineas back!"

"Yes. I couldn't have done it without Catra and Adora" Mermista acknowledged, smiling a little "But well... now we have to tell Perfuma that her kingdom is now the seat of resistance"

"Let's hope that our soldiers who protect the Heart-Blossom resist at least until tomorrow when we arrive" Adora commented

"Don't say _'we'_ , you won't go anywhere" Catra chided

Adora rolled her eyes.

"What happened to you? Are you okay?" Glimmer asked.

"Of course! It's nothing" Adora said immediately

"They hurt her in combat" Catra answered "Nothing serious, but I know her, and I know that she's in pain"

"It’s nothing I cannot handle" Adora maintained.

That was perfect! Oh no, it wasn't that she was glad they hurt Adora or anything similar, but now Glimmer had the perfect excuse to spend a moment alone with her.

"Okay, let's get to work. Mermista, Catra, call the Alliance to a meeting in the War Room to talk about the site in Plumeria" Glimmer ordered "I'll go in a moment" she extended her hand towards the blonde girl "After taking Adora to the infirmary"

Adora smiled slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, Glimmer saw Mermista nudged Catra.

"I don't need to go to the infirmary" Adora complained, a little flushed

"Yes, you need it" Catra intervened "If you want to go with us tomorrow, I need your ankle to be fine. If not, you will stay here"

Adora growled but gave in to the other three girls' gaze.

"Okay. But I'm going just so you guys are not worried"

Glimmer took Adora's wrist and said "see you on the War Room" before teleporting to the infirmary.

* * *

"You're worrying too much" Adora insisted "It's nothing serious"

"Well, that will be decided by the professionals" Glimmer replied

Adora sighed, giving up

The infirmary was filled with other soldiers. Luckily, they all appeared to be minor injuries. Adora was sitting on the floor, her legs stretched out and her back against the wall and Glimmer was next to her sitting cross-legged.

"Thank you for caring, although perhaps you are exaggerating a little" Adora commented, smiling

"You heard Catra already, you won't go anywhere tomorrow if you are not fine"

"But I'm fine!"

"Shut up, Adora"

Glimmer smiled a little too but was somewhat concerned. Adora had fought many battles, but in general, she had never been hurt — not even minor injuries like the ones she had now. In addition to whatever happened to her ankle, she had a bruise next to her mouth, which had reopened the lip wound from the other day, her knuckles were bleeding too, and her arms were bruised and scratched.

The queen had been wondering why all those wounds were so evident now until she realized something. When Adora had the Sword of Protection, there was a kind of magic that protected her while she was She-Ra. In other words, she had even been shot directly by the Horde lasers and nothing had happened to her. The stab wound she got the day she saved Glimmer had seemed very serious, but within days it was as if nothing had happened. Adora had fallen from great heights without breaking a bone. And now, she had an ugly mark surely caused by a punch and maybe she had injured her ankle stumbled with her own feet or something.

Adora had become a normal person again, and Glimmer didn't like that. She was realizing that regardless of her strength and bravery, Adora was a girl like any other, a little fragile, and she could surely get very hurt in a battle.

"Glimmer, are you alright?" Adora asked, pulling her out of her trance

"Uh? Yes, of course" the queen doubted.

"Shouldn't you be going to the War Room? It may be a while before they take care of me"

"Yes... yes. I should, but... I don't want to leave you alone"

"C'mon, I'll be fine"

Adora smiled. Glimmer moved closer to her. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Glimmer felt herself blush but didn't look away.

"I missed you" Adora confessed, still looking at the queen

"Me too, Adora. I missed you so much"

Was it normal for Glimmer to feel her cheeks so hot? Come on, she had been practicing in her mind the things she was going to say to Adora when she saw her, but at that moment, she forgot everything. The sweet look in Adora's eyes had erased all thoughts from her head. Fuck. She was beautiful. Glimmer simply couldn't believe it.

Then something incredible happened. Something that made Glimmer's heart race uncontrollably. Adora leaned toward her very slowly and kissed her gently. Glimmer felt a shiver as she kissed her back. It made her skin stand on end, and it felt like her heart was going to come out of her chest. It had been so long since she had felt that... Adora's lips were even better than she remembered, no matter if they tasted slightly of blood.

They pulled away. Adora could only say "I really miss you"

Then, she blushed even more and buried her face in Glimmer's neck.

"Sorry" the girl murmured, with a very nervous voice, "I think I even prepared a speech for everything I wanted to say but... I just forgot"

Glimmer didn't know what to say. She began stroking Adora's hair. Her hands were shaking. Surely Adora could hear her heart pounding.

"I was thinking a lot about our conversation," Glimmer began, struggling to keep her composure as she finally remembered part of what he was going to say "I know I never apologize for anything, and that's very wrong. I apologized that day, so I just want you to know that everything I said was very serious. I'm so sorry I hurt you. You know that everything that happened with mom was not easy for me, but that is no excuse to have treated you like I did. And... I was stubborn. But I don't want to be like that anymore. Adora... I don't want to lose you"

"I don't want to lose you either, Glim" Adora replied, raising her face. Her eyes were red and filled with tears "You did hurt me. But I hurt you too. I'm sorry I didn't hear you before and... Well, I think we should learn to put ourselves in each other's shoes, right?"

"Yes, definitely"

"And we need to improve..."

"I want to improve, Adora. I want to be someone who deserves you"

Adora hugged her very tightly. Glimmer began to cry, as quietly as she could. Anyway, sure many people were watching them.

"I never wanted us to break up. I was angry that day, and I wanted to hurt you... I was stupid, but really, I never wanted to leave you. I'm sorry I didn't say it immediately" Glimmer muttered

"I don't care about that, Glimmer. Maybe I deserved it. Forget about it, I already forgive you. I just want to leave it behind”

"You didn't deserve it, Adora. I'm sorry."

Glimmer was still scratching Adora's undercut. The warrior was really letting out her emotions right now. Glimmer knew very well that the night of the party, they tried very hard not to cry.

"What's going to happen to us now?" Glimmer whispered.

"I never stopped having feelings for you," Adora promised "I want to fall in love with you again. This time without secrets or bad thoughts. I want us to try again but this time without keeping anything for ourselves. I want that if you don't like something you say to me, and I'll tell you everything too. And that we respect what the other wants to say or do. I promise that I will be better"

Glimmer nodded slightly and hugged the blonde girl again.

"I love you so much" Glimmer confessed

"I love you more, Glim"

Glimmer tried to pull away, but Adora nuzzled her cheek with her nose affectionately and laid a long, lingering kiss on her cheek.

"I think now you should go to the War Room" Adora pointed out

"Yes," Glimmer accepted, but she didn't want to. Not now. Not after that kiss. "Wait for me here. I'll come back for you, so you don't have to walk"

"Okay. I'll wait for you." Adora leaned forward and kissed Glimmer again. "All my life, if necessary"

Glimmer smiled, seeing Adora's warm smile. Then, she teleported to the War Room.

* * *

The queen materialized directly in the war room, where the other princesses, her father, Catra, the general, and Bow were already waiting for her.

"I'm sorry for the delay" she apologized

"Is that in your mouth... blood?" Bow asked under his breath.

Glimmer blushed completely and wiped Adora's blood with her hand. This time it was Catra who nudged Mermista, and they both chuckled. Glimmer wondered when they had become such good friends. Bah, perhaps reclaiming a kingdom brings people together.

"Well... what news do you have?" Glimmer asked, trying to sound normal.

"Apparently the army that awaits us in Plumeria is larger than the one in Salineas" the general reported

"A risky move" Mermista commented, "If they didn't want to lose Salineas, why didn't they meet there?"

"Because Plumeria was unprotected" Catra assured "The rebel troops never leave Salineas. Instead, Plumeria was easier to take"

"Fortunately, I evacuated everyone," Perfuma murmured, looking shocked "But the Heart-Blossom-"

"The Heart-Blossom is fine. I'm sure that the soldiers have not even realized that it's there. I'm informed that the resistance camp is _near_ Plumeria, on the camp that She-Ra destroyed long ago"

"Great, so we don't care about getting the kingdom back, but about defeat the Horde," Glimmer pointed out.

"Wait a minute," Bow pondered. "If what we want is to make them join us, isn't it a risky thing to attack? We should be diplomats, right?"

"I don't think they're willing to negotiate," Catra remarked "It's more a question of honor... they do not want to surrender to you, so they will fight to the end. They have nothing to lose"

"Then it's inevitable to attack first" Glimmer muttered

Catra nodded.

"I hate having to resort to violence," Perfuma sighed "But they are in my kingdom, so I'm going to fight"

"I'll go with you," Mermista advertised immediately, putting a hand on her shoulder "Sea Hawk and the Salineas guard will also go"

"I'll go too!" Frosta exclaimed "Along with my guards"

"You would be lost without me," Catra said, with a mocking smile "I will bring part of my troops. Also, I want to take care of this personally"

Glimmer was very happy to see Catra joining the team. Despite everything she had been through and the whole affair with Adora, Catra had been there for her on Horde Prime's ship, just when she needed her. She hoped that, despite what had happened in the last days, they could really become friends.

"If you let me-" Glimmer started to say

"No," Catra interrupted, "Those soldiers have nothing to lose. I bet if they see the Queen of Bright Moon on the battlefield... well, you'll be their primary target"

"This is possibly the last battle in this war! I don't want to stay here doing nothing" Glimmer exclaimed

Catra giggled. She ran her gaze over everyone in the room and said "I don't think you're going to do anything. If whoever is in command is smart, they will use our attack as a distraction so that a part of their army will try to take Bright Moon"

"It's ridiculous," King Micah intervened "They know they cannot take the kingdom"

"I insist they don't care about that anymore. They sure know they will lose, and they just want to do as much damage as possible. So, I suggest the rest of you stay to protect the kingdom just in case. And Bow, don't let Glimmer alone. They will want to hurt her"

Nobody said anything. That plan sounded pretty crazy, but at the same time totally possible.

"Okay" Glimmer agreed "Bow, Netossa, Spinerella, Scorpia, and Entrapta will stay here"

"Part of my army will also stay" Catra indicated

"The guards and I will stay, Your Majesty," the general declares "I will send part of the troops to Plumeria"

"Maybe you have to go with them, general"

"No way. I'll stay to protect you"

"But then who's gonna lead our troops in Plumeria?"

"What about Adora?" Catra suggested

Glimmer didn't reply. They all looked at her. Catra cleared her throat and continued "Adora can lead your army if you ask her to. Technically she's part of my troops, but..."

The queen felt a lump in her throat. She knew Catra's proposal was good, but she didn't like it...

"Alright," she agreed, but she felt someone else speak for her. "Adora can... lead Bright Moon army tomorrow"

She hated that idea with all her being. She didn't understand it. It was not a big deal, Adora could do it but... She had a horrible feeling.

"Also, I would suggest that you protect the kingdom with magic," Catra said, "If it's necessary to ask for Shadow Weaver's help..."

"We don't need her" Micah assured "Me, my sister and the sorcerers of Mystacor will take care of it"

"This is all an assumption, isn't it?" Bow inquired "Nothing assures us that they will attack Bright Moon"

"I would count on the attack, even if it's a small one"

"If it doesn't happen, we'll send more people to Plumeria to support you," Glimmer said.

Well, they had a plan. They couldn't fail. After all, for the first time, they outnumbered the enemy. One last battle, that was all.

"Are you officially giving the order to attack, your majesty?" the general asked

Glimmer looked at everyone present and nodded, saying "Prepare to leave first thing tomorrow".


End file.
